


Leonard Snart and The First Year

by Crypticbeliever123



Series: Leonard Snart and The Legends of Hogwarts [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Animagus!Leonard, F/M, Gryffindor!Sara, Ravenclaw!Leonard, Slytherin!Mick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2018-12-30 08:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 41,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12105063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crypticbeliever123/pseuds/Crypticbeliever123
Summary: Leonard Snart is a first year Hogwarts student and the pureblood son of the cold and vicious Slytherin Lewis Snart. He's always lived his life in fear of his father and has never fought back... that is until he meets a certain muggle born witch who helps him gain a bit of courage.





	1. Headed for Hogwarts

Leonard Snart; the eldest child and only son of Lewis Snart, elder brother of Lisa Snart by three years, lifelong friend of pureblood Mick Rory, a pureblood wizard, and now a first year Hogwarts student. This was a day Leonard was both excited for and dreading at the same time.

 

It was the first year he would get to spend away from home for most of the year which was good considering what his father was like. But it was also the first year his sister would spend alone with the man and the year he would be sorted. Everyone in his family has been a Slytherin practically since the school’s founding and if he weren’t sorted into the house his father would be furious and he didn’t even want to think about how his father would react if he were sorted into Gryffindor.

 

“Good luck Lenny,” Lisa told her brother while hugging him as she and their father saw him off at Platform 9¾.

“Thanks Lise. I’ll miss you,” he smiled sadly as he hugged her tightly not wanting to let her go.

“Ahem,” their father interrupted causing Leonard to release his sister as he turned to face the man beside him.

“Father,” Leonard said with a nod.

“Leonard,” Lewis said with a nod in return.

“Do not disappoint me, boy,” he sneered.

 

Leonard then grabbed his belongings and turned to board the train almost getting there when he was suddenly barreled into by a blonde girl as she rushed to get on board.

 

“Sorry! Sorry. My bad,” she said as she gathered up her things that had fallen from the crash.

“No, it’s okay,” Leonard argued.

“Hey!” Lewis shouted as he marched up to them.

“You should watch where you’re going next time little girl,” he sneered at the young blonde.

“No,” she said firmly much to Leonard’s dismay as he knew she was only asking for trouble.

“No?” Lewis asked menacingly.

“No. You should watch your mouth and not speak so rudely to children. I’m only eleven you know,” the girl said as she told him off.

“Hmm. You’re a Gryffindor if I ever saw one. They don’t have any manners either,” Lewis sneered at her before turning back to his son.

“Be careful around this one, boy, she’s nothing but trouble,” he told Leonard.

“Yes father,” Leonard nodded as he finished gathering up his items including his very flexible wand of 13-inch reed wood and a unicorn hair core.

“That’s your father?” the girl asked him.

“Yes.”

“You have my condolences. Sara Lance. Nice to meet you,” the girl said reaching out a hand.

 

He refused her hand and turned to board the train without saying a word to her. Something he regretted doing but had no choice as he knew his father would be cross if he spoke to her. As the train started to move Leonard found himself a seat in one of the compartments of the train where he was soon confronted by Sara.

 

“Hey! I know your father’s a jerk but that doesn’t mean you have to be such a-” she started screaming at him.

“I know. I know I’m sorry. Hi, my name is Leonard. Leonard Snart,” he interrupted with an extended hand.

“And why couldn’t you have just said that before?” she asked with crossed arms.

“My father was watching. He would have been furious with me for talking to you. You haven’t seen him at his worst. What’s scarier is neither have I. He’s not a man you want to cross.”

“How do you know you haven’t seen him at his worst?”

“I’m still alive. You can sit down if you want,” he said gesturing to the seats.

 

She sat down unsure of what to say after his bold statement of still being alive because he hasn’t seen his father at his worst. They were shortly joined in the compartment by Leonard’s friend Mick who was carrying an assortment of goodies from the trolley.

 

“Who’s the witch?” Mick asked with a mouth full of sweets making it hard to tell if he said witch or bitch.

“What did he just call me?” she asked with an eyebrow raised.

“He said witch. Sara this is my friend Mick. Mick this is Sara,” Leonard said gesturing between the two of them.

“Pleasure,” Mick smiled at her.

“Cauldron cake?” he offered to the two of them.

“No thanks,” Leonard and Sara said in unison.

“Suit yourselves,” Mick replied as he took a seat beside Leonard.

“So blondie what family you from?”

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“She’s not from one of the pureblood families,” Leonard answered for her.

“Seriously?” Mick questioned.

“I’m sorry. What’s a pureblood?” she asked.

“Holy crap she’s a mudblood. Why the hell are you sitting with a mudblood? You know your father’s going to be pissed when he hears about this.”

“Which is why he’s not going to hear about this, Mick.”

“Hey guys care to fill me in on what pureblood and mudblood mean?”

“Purebloods are witches and wizards whose family lines are comprised solely of wizards such as my family and Mick’s. Mudblood is a crude term for those who are muggle born or rather those not born of any magical parents.”

“Oh so Mick just insulted me is that it?”

“Nah. Just mudblood’s faster to say than muggle born.”

“Uh-huh,” she said in a tone that conveyed how little she believed him.

“So uh what was that your dad said about me being a Gryffindor earlier?” she asked Leonard.

“Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff; the four houses of Hogwarts. Gryffindors, which my father loathes are considered to be brave and have a lot of nerve. And quite frankly with the way you stood up to him I’d have to agree. Definitely going to be sorted into Gryffindor.”

“You and I are going to be in Slytherin though. Guarantee it,” Mick said as he stuffed his face some more.

“What’s special about Slytherin?”

“They’re said to be the kind of people who are ambitious and self-serving and would gladly stab someone in the back if it helped them achieve their goals,” Leonard explained to her.

“Really?”

“Well that’s the reputation anyway. My family’s been Slytherin since practically the school was founded. Only reason I’m hoping to get in that house is so my dad won’t be furious with me for not getting in. Although to be honest as long as it’s not Gryffindor I get sorted into I should be fine.”

“You really hate disappointing your dad, don’t you?” she asked.

 “It’s not the disappointing him I don’t like, it’s the punishments he dishes out when I do that sucks.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what that’s like,” she said placing a hand on his knee.

 

There was suddenly a knock on the compartment door.

 

“Hi. My name’s Ray. Ray Palmer. First year. I was just coming around to all the compartments to say hi and get to know my new classmates. So how are you guys doing?” Ray asked the three of them.

“Hufflepuff,” Leonard and Mick said in unison as they turned to each other.

“What?” Sara asked.

“Never mind,” Leonard replied rolling his eyes.

“Hufflepuff huh? I always thought I was more of a Ravenclaw to be honest. Oh well. See you guys later,” Ray shrugged before heading off to the next compartment.

“If he’s what we’re going to be dealing with it’s going to be a looong year,” Mick sighed.

“Long and interesting,” Sara added as she grabbed one of Mick’s snacks.

“Here, here,” Mick agreed.

 

 _Well_ , Leonard thought, _Sara did have one thing right. This was sure to be an interesting year._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave comments.
> 
> PS: I will not be placing Leonard in Slytherin for the simple reason that the key trait of Slytherins is self-preservation and Leonard is the type of person to die for those he cares about which is decidedly not Slytherin. So please let me know what house you think he would fit in best at. I have my own theory but I want to know what everyone else thinks.


	2. The Sorting

Leonard arrived at Hogwarts right alongside Mick, Sara, and their new classmates such as that annoyingly friendly Ray Palmer and his twin brother Sydney, a boy who preferred to be called Jax, a boy named Nate, a girl by the name of Amaya, and a boy named Barry who Leonard could tell right off the bat would be his biggest pet peeve this year. Now all he had to do was wait in line for his turn to be sorted. Why a hat got to decide a person’s fate was beyond him but that’s the way it’s always been and most likely the way it would always be.

 

“Well it’s been nice knowing you Sara. But after this there’s no way my father’s going to let me talk to you. I mean unless the hat makes a mistake and puts you in Slytherin,” Leonard said to Sara shaking her hand.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Your dad’s not here. So there’s no way for him to know you’re talking to me unless you tell him yourself.”

“Or Mick blabs like he always does.”

“Hey! Standing right here,” Mick reminded him.

“Besides I know better than to tell Lewis Snart something that’ll only piss him off,” he added.

“True. Hey look it’s that Ray kid. Looks like he’s anxious for the sorting,” Leonard mentioned.

“You sure? For all we know that could be his brother,” Sara questioned.

“Nope that’s definitely that Ray punk. See that big dumb smile? No way that’s his brother,” Mick replied.

“Definitely not. The way Sydney pushed us out of the way to get off the train first if he’s not a Slytherin I’ll be shocked,” Leonard replied.

“So just to be clear. Slytherin’s the bad house, Gryffindor’s the brave house, Ravenclaw’s smart, and Hufflepuff is nice,” Sara asked.

“Pretty much. I mean at least as far as reputations go anyways,” Leonard shrugged as the Sorting Hat sang its annual song.

“Ugh I can’t believe that whole yearly song thing was true. I thought it was just some urban myth,” he groaned as the hat continued to sing.

“The hat sings? Each year?” Sara questioned.

“Every. Single. Year,” Leonard confirmed with an air of annoyance at the song as Mick hummed along to it.

“Are you humming?” he asked his friend.

“What? It’s catchy,” Mick defended.

 

 

Once the song was done the students stepped forward one by one as their names were called and sat down to be sorted until finally it was Sara’s turn.

 

“Good luck!” Leonard said to her as she stepped up to the stool.

 

He knew which house she was likely to be sorted into but a part of him hoped she would be in Slytherin so that his father wouldn’t forbid him from associating with her. His hopes were then dashed to pieces as the hat called out…

 

“Gryffindor!”

 

Not long after was Ray Palmer’s sorting.

 

“Hufflepuff!” the hat called out.

“Told ya!” Mick declared proudly as he elbowed his friend.

 

Up next in the sorting was Ray’s brother Sydney who pushed him out of the way.

 

“Slytherin!” the Sorting Hat shouted after only a brief moment.

“Told _you_ ,” Leonard said to Mick.

 

Other students who were sorted included Jax, Amaya, and Barry into Gryffindor, Nate into Hufflepuff and another student by the name of Cisco Ramon being sorted into Ravenclaw. Then it was Mick’s turn.

 

“Good luck Mick,” Leonard told his oldest friend.

“I don’t need luck,” he boasted as he walked up to the hat.

 

“Slytherin!” was called out shortly after the hat was placed upon his head.

 

Leonard was thrilled for his friend’s placement. It at least meant that he could still hang out with Mick. Sara on the other hand was a different story. She was in Gryffindor, the house his father hated the most. There was no way he’d ever be allowed to speak to her ever again. He didn’t know why that bothered him so much. He only just met her that day but she had already found some way under skin.

 

He didn’t have any more time to think about it. Now was the time he had been anxiously awaiting. The time he would be sorted into his Hogwarts House. He had his fingers crossed for Slytherin. Lord knows what his father would do to him if he were sorted into any other. He took his seat on the stool and took a breath as the hat was placed on his head.

 

“ _Hmm. Interesting. Very interesting. A pureblood and a Snart no less. Typically due for Slytherin House so let’s see here. Hmm. Cunning, resourceful, determined, all good Slytherin traits yes. But there’s none of that self-preservation that’s most typical of the Slytherin kind and I’m not seeing any of that pureblood superiority complex either. Not a whole lot of ambition either. There is a determination to survive and protect your loved ones but nothing really of any lust for power or success. No. Definitely not a Slytherin_ ,” the hat’s voice whispered inside his mind much to his chagrin.

 

His father would not be pleased to hear about this.

 

“ _Hmm, there does however appear to be quite a lot of chivalry and loyalty to those you consider friend. Not a lot of nerve in you but there does seem to be a potential for bravery and courage. Yes, quite a lot of potential it would seem_ ,” the hat continued making Leonard even more nervous.

 

No. It can’t seriously be considering Gryffindor, can it? He can’t be placed in Gryffindor. He just can’t.

 

“Not Gryffindor. Not Gryffindor. Anything but Gryffindor. _Please_ not Gryffindor,” Leonard whispered.

“ _Not Gryffindor eh? Ooh yes, I do see how that would be bad for you. However my job is not concerned with that. Hmm. Although the mere potential for courage, however, great might not be enough to place you. Now I do see quite a high level of intelligence. Meticulous, strategic, quite creative, a certain degree of originality, a natural wit._ _Although, there is still that willingness to sacrifice yourself for your friends. Yes. I believe I’ve come to a decision_ ,” thee hat continued to whisper in his head.

“Man, what’s taking so long? Is the hat broken?” Sara wondered off to the side.

“No. Some just take longer. Anything longer than five minutes is a Hatstall. I heard the longest one took an hour and thirteen minutes. Ooh looks like Len just crossed over into Hatstall territory,” Mick mentioned as he looked down at his watch to see it had been five minutes and twelve seconds when the Sorting Hat finally declared…

“Ravenclaw!” much to Leonard’s relief.

 

It may not have been what he preferred but it was at least better than being sorted into Gryffindor. And besides Ravenclaw was at least his father’s second favorite of the Hogwarts Houses.

 

“Congrats Len,” Sara said to him as he joined her and Mick off to the side.

“Yeah. So uh what took so long? Hat have a hard time picking between Slytherin and Ravenclaw?” Mick asked.

“Yeah,” Leonard said knowing the risks in telling his friend the truth about his sorting.

“I’ll see you guys later. Father wanted me to send word as soon as I was sorted,” he said as he headed off to write his father a letter.

 

_Dear Father,_

_I regret to inform you that I have just been sorted into Ravenclaw House. This occurred after a Hatstall in which the Sorting Hat decided, wrongly I assume, that I would be best suited for Ravenclaw over Slytherin. I apologize for disappointing you. I tried to convince the hat to place me in Slytherin but it wouldn’t agree. I am pleased, however, to inform you that you were indeed correct about that blonde girl back at King’s Cross Station was, as you predicted, sorted into Gryffindor almost immediately. Again, I beg your forgiveness for failing to be sorted into Slytherin and humbly ask that you tell Lisa that I am well otherwise._

_Sincerely,_

_Leonard_

“That’s what you’re writing to him?” Sara asked as she snuck up on him.

“Geeze, you startled me. And yes, that’s what I’m writing him. Why do you ask?” Leonard replied.

“You shouldn’t have to apologize for something that was out of your control. It’s not your fault the hat thought you were too smart to be placed in anything other than Ravenclaw.”

“Yeah. I know I shouldn’t have to apologize for the sorting but considering what the hat’s second choice was I kind of feel I have to.”

“Why? I thought it was deciding between Ravenclaw and Slytherin.”

“Actually it’s second choice was Gryffindor,” he muttered.

“Seriously?” she asked with surprise.

“Yes. Father would’ve killed me if I had been sorted there. Only reason I didn’t make the cut for Slytherin is because I put others’ lives ahead of mine, I’m not ambitious in the sense that I have any big goals I want to achieve, I don’t have a superiority complex in regard to my blood status. Hat decided fairly easily that I wasn’t the right fit for Slytherin,” he said in a disappointed tone.

“Well for what it’s worth I think the hat made the right call. You’re not right for a house whose reputation is for being evil. And if it helps anything I would’ve liked it if we were in the same house,” she said before pulling him in for a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think of the sortings? Agree? Disagree? Let me know.
> 
> Please feel free to leave comments.


	3. Leonard Snart and The First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The class schedules I set out for the characters are what I determined from the schedules I found from these sources:
> 
> http://www.muridae.co.uk/after_survivor/mastertimetable.pdf  
> http://aschoolofmagic.proboards.com/thread/65/ravenclaw-timetables  
> http://aschoolofmagic.proboards.com/thread/64/gryffindor-timetables  
> http://aschoolofmagic.proboards.com/thread/67/slytherin-timetables  
> http://aschoolofmagic.proboards.com/thread/66/hufflepuff-timetables
> 
> Again, this is just the schedules I based off these sources. If any extreme die-hard Potterheads see anything I got wrong please let me know.

Leonard woke up that Monday morning ready to start classes and get on with his schooling. He was determined to make top marks every single year so as to make up for his failure to be sorted into Slytherin like his father preferred. The fear his father’s voice created in him when he received a howler screaming at him for his incompetence really had him on edge. If he failed to get the highest grades in his class and live up to the reputation of Ravenclaw he thought for sure he was a goner.

 

He arrived at his first class of the day promptly at nine o’clock sharp to find his class full of both Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs alike. A pity, he would’ve liked it if he could be in a class with Mick or even Sara who refused to let his father’s hatred of her and her house deter her from being his friend. He wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed by that or delighted. After all, there was something about her that made him smile even if he wasn’t quite sure what that was. Perhaps it was her fearless and bold attitude he liked. He couldn’t be sure.

 

His first class, the Defense Against the Dark Arts started quickly after their professor arrived. There was something about this man that left but one word in Leonard’s mind: diabolical. He was sure this man wasn’t someone you would want to cross and decided not to do anything to provoke his teacher’s wrath.

 

“Greetings class, I am professor Darhk. That’s D-A-R-H-K, Darhk,” the professor said as he wrote his name on the board underlining it as he finished.

“Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Yes, I know. Someone with my name teaching a class like this. Ironic, but please keep your snide comments and jokes to yourselves or at the very least out of my class or earshot. Now moving on, today we are going to be discussing the Curse of the Bogies. This curse inflicts upon someone a very strong cold and runny nose. Not the most dangerous of curses but a curse nonetheless. Now repeat after me. Mucus ad Nauseum,” Darhk continued.

“Mucus ad Nauseum,” the class repeated.

“Very good. Now pick up your wands and move your hand like so,” Darhk said as he demonstrated the hand movement used in the curse that appeared similar to a teardrop.

 

The class flicked their wands as shown and one student, the very naïve Ray Palmer, was innocently whispering the words that go along with the gesture thinking that if he said it quietly it wouldn’t actually produce the spell.

 

“Achoo!” Darhk sneezed as Ray accidentally cursed him.

“Oops,” Ray muttered while most of the class burst out laughing.

“Achoo! Twenty points from Huff- Huff-” Darhk said trying to suppress a sneeze.

“Ah. Achoo!” he sneezed after briefly appearing to have his sneezing under control.

“Twenty points from Hufflepuff!” Darhk shouted while pointing to Ray as he grabbed tissues with his other hand to stop the snot that was running down his face like a faucet.

 

Leonard then took his wand and performed the appropriate counter-curse instantly ceasing Professor Darhk’s ailment.

 

“Ah, that is much better. Who might I ask just did that? Hm? Well speak up. Don’t be shy,” Darhk insisted.

“I did sir,” Leonard answered weakly raising his hand.

“And how might I ask did you know how to counteract the curse?”

“I memorized the book over the weekend in order to be prepared for class today, sir,” Leonard replied shyly as Darhk stepped up to his desk.

“You mean to tell me you memorized the entire book over just one weekend?”

“Yes sir.”

“Hm. What are Hags?”

“Children-eating creatures with a warty yet human-like appearance.”

“Where do zombies dwell?”

“Only in the Southern part of America.”

“And how can they be recognized?”

“By their greyish color and rotten smell.”

“Very good. I’d press you more but that would only be spoiling the rest of the semester’s lessons. Fifty points to Ravenclaw,” Darhk smiled before turning his back on the class and stepping over to the chalkboard.

 

Leonard sighed a breath of relief that his first encounter with this Professor Darhk went better than he expected but at the same time his suspicions regarding the man only grew a bit more. He seemed nice almost friendly even. If this was truly the case then why did he give Leonard the heebie jeebies? Leonard made himself develop a strong sense of danger in order to survive his father’s abuse and this sense was rarely ever wrong. Whatever kind of man this Professor Darhk was he was certainly not one Leonard wanted to get on the bad side of.

 

After Defense Against the Dark Arts ended Leonard headed off to his next class, History of Magic which he happened to share with Mick. Leonard was happy about that for all of five minutes before Mick started trying to talk to him as the Professor gave the class lecture causing both of them to get detention. His father wouldn’t want to hear about this. At least he was able to pay attention to their ghostly professor Cuthbert Binns after Mick fell asleep in class.

 

Once class let out Leonard headed to the Library to get some homework done when suddenly he was ambushed by Sara as she slid next to him on the bench smiling.

 

“Hey, how are classes going so far?” she asked him.

“Pretty good. Ray accidentally cursed the Defense professor and when I used the counter-curse I got fifty points for my house. After that I did so well at practicing the spell on some classroom rats that Cisco started calling me Captain Cold.”

“Not a bad nickname.”

“Maybe not but then I got detention in History of Magic when Mick wouldn’t stop trying to talk to me during class,” he replied.

“Eh, detention can’t be so bad. And besides you cured a teacher of a curse on your first day if that doesn’t get you on the guy’s good side I don’t know what will.”

“I suppose. But still, detention. My father’s going to be so cross when he hears about this,” Leonard groaned before slamming his face onto the open book he was reading.

 

A moment passed before he looked back up at Sara.

 

“What about you? How are your classes so far?” he asked her.

“Well Mick and I have the same Potions class which would be great except I have this sneaking suspicion he’ll wind up killing us both by mixing his potions wrong. Then I had Herbology with a Professor Longbottom who instead of teaching us the class was too busy answering a bunch of students’ questions about some sort of Wizarding War and how he killed a snake. Seriously though why were people so impressed that he killed a snake?”

“It wasn’t just a snake it was a horcrux created by a dark wizard known as Voldemort in an attempt to live forever. By killing it Longbottom helped put an end to his reign of terror for good.”

“Wow. No wonder he’s so popular. Hey just out of curiosity, what other classes do you have later?”

“I have Charms class at two, Transfiguration right after that, and then Astronomy.”

“Hey me too! Well not Astronomy but the first two for sure. And here I thought we might not get to have any classes together,” she smiled as she elbowed him playfully.

“You’re not going to get me in trouble by talking to me during those classes like Mick did, are you?”

“Don’t be silly. I take notes during class. I find it’s a lot easier to remember this stuff if I write it down. Otherwise my chances at failing go through the roof.”

“Not a problem for me. I have a pretty good memory.”

“Cool, can I have it?”

“Have what? My good memory?”

“Yeah isn’t there like a spell for that somewhere or something?”

“Maybe but I’m pretty sure there would be a rule against it somewhere in the school handbook.”

“Whatever, I was only kidding anyway. But hey if I have trouble keeping up with my grades maybe you could help me out seeing as how you’re in the smart house and all.”

“What like tutor you?”

“Yeah why not?”

“Because my father would kill me for associating with you? Also why am I even talking to you?”

“Because I’m a good conversationalist. Hey how’s about instead of reading in our spare time we play a game of cards?” she suggested pushing his book out of the way and pulling out a deck of cards.

“You know Gin?” he asked after considering the pros and cons of not studying for a few minutes.

“You deal,” she smiled confidently handing him the deck.

 

He dealt the cards and quickly found her to be more difficult an opponent than his little sister which he supposed shouldn’t surprise him since Sara didn’t seem like the cocky type, more like the appropriately confident type. What was supposed to only take a few minutes away from his studies wound up taking almost an hour before they had to head over to the Great Hall for lunch. Not that he minded playing cards with Sara for so long. After all she was a talented opponent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave comments.


	4. Potions Class

The rest of Leonard’s Monday went by quite smoothly. But today was Tuesday and his day was going to start off with his second round of Charms class with Rip Hunter whom he already found he didn’t like. Not for the same reason he didn’t like Professor Darhk, rather he just found Professor Hunter to be a tad pretentious and stiff. Nevertheless having Sara there with him helped brighten this otherwise dull class.

 

Next up on the schedule today was Potions class with a Professor Merlyn who gave off a similar vibe as Professor Darhk though to a lesser extent. From what he had seen of Merlyn and Darhk in the Great Hall during meals the two men seemed like they were friends or at the very least allies of some sort. Leonard knew men such as them aren’t typically ones to have real friends. Even still, he considered this apparent friendliness to be a potential danger as for all he knew they could be conspiring something most sinister.

 

He would just have to ponder whether or not his teachers were possibly dark wizards some other time. For now he had to focus on today’s lesson.

 

“Hello class. My name is Professor Merlyn and today I am going to be teaching you how to brew a cure for boils. Now the first thing you are going to want to do is to gather your ingredients. They are: 6 snake fangs, 4 horned slugs, and 2 porcupine quills. You can find these and other ingredients in the cupboard behind you. So please go get what you need and we may begin,” Merlyn said as he wrote the ingredients on the board.

 

The students all swarmed to the back of the room to get their ingredients and Leonard found it difficult to make his way through the crowd due both to the size of the crowd as well as the fact that he was rather scrawny compared to some of the others in his class. Ray was also having trouble getting through but that’s because he was asking politely to be let through instead of pushing like most of the others were. Leonard thought for sure there wouldn’t be anything left once he got to the cupboard but luckily for him he found he was wrong.

 

“You all have your ingredients? Good. Now the first thing you want to do is to take the snake fangs and grind them into a fine powder using your mortars. I’ll be coming around the room to check your progress as you do so just to make sure you’re all grinding them fine enough which you want to be sure you do because if you make this potion wrong instead of curing boils it will instead cause them. So remember what you want is a fine powder of snake fangs,” Merlyn instructed.

 

Professor Merlyn then began to walk through the room checking everyone’s mortars to see how they were doing. Meanwhile, Leonard, who had already finished grinding his fangs, had started measuring out the fangs for the next step.

 

“Good Mr. Ramon. Very good Mr. Palmer. Nate, you need to grind a bit harder. Good. Mr. Snart it seems you’ve not only successfully grinded your fangs but have moved on to the next step. While I admire your enthusiasm please in the future remember to not get ahead of yourself otherwise you might wind up making a crucial error in your potions which trust me you do not want to do.”

 

Trust him? Was he serious? He may not seem as bad as Darhk but Leonard was sure trusting him would be a mistake.

 

“Is everyone done? Good. Now the next thing you have to do is to add four measures of the crushed fangs to your cauldron. Then heat the mixture to 250 for 10 seconds exactly, no more, no less,” Merlyn continued in the instruction as Leonard followed his orders exactly.

“Now wave your wands at the potion then let it brew for the next 33 to 45 minutes and in the meantime, you can turn to the first page in your textbooks and read over chapter one,” Merlyn ordered causing some of the students to groan at the prospect of reading.

 

Leonard, however, was quite content with reading and seeing as how he had already read the textbook twice since purchasing it figured he could read over a book on Animagi he borrowed from the library.

 

“Mr. Snart, I believe I recommended reading the class text mind telling me why you’re reading that instead?” Merlyn interrupted.

“I already read the textbook twice. And I have a very good memory. I could recite almost the whole thing word for word. And since I already read all my other textbooks as well I figured I could read this instead. Is that a problem?” Leonard asked the potions professor.

“Ah right, Professor Darhk told me you were getting ahead of yourself with the readings. That would probably explain how you knew what steps to perform before I told you. And while I applaud your enthusiasm for learning for future reference you are to follow my instructions as I tell them when I tell them and not do anything else. Is that clear?” Merlyn explained.

“Yes sir,” Leonard replied weakly as he put down his book on animagi and picked up his textbook instead.

 

Leonard read through the book for the third time and considered it to be absolutely excruciating having to do the same thing over again unnecessarily. He figured this might be why doing the same thing over again and expecting different results was considered a definition of insanity. Not for the sake of it being insane but for the sake of causing insanity. Luckily time finally passed and he was able to return to his potion.

 

“Alright class, now we move on to part two of the potion. What you need to do now is to add the four horned slugs to your cauldron and then remove it from the fire before moving on to the next step,” Merlyn explained.

 

After following Professor Merlyn’s instructions Leonard glanced to his right where he saw Ray removing the cauldron from the flames before putting the horned slugs in instead of after. If Palmer hadn’t been so quick in his actions he would’ve warned him that he was doing it wrong. But seeing as how that wasn’t the case he decided to just make sure he had his potion ready to cure the boils ray would undoubtedly get from his potion blowing up in his face.

 

“Very good class, next we add two porcupine quills and stir five times clockwise. Then simply wave your wand to complete the potion.”

 

The class did as they were instructed and witnessed pink smoke rising from their cauldrons as they completed their potions. All except for Ray who noticed his cauldron emit a rancid odor and as he looked down in his cauldron to see what was going on the potion splashed in his face causing him to break out in boils. Understandably Ray started freaking out.

 

“Calm down Mr. Palmer there’s no reason to panic it’s just a simple mishap,” Merlyn tried to tell the boy who ignored him.

“Here, this should cure it,” Leonard said to Ray as he handed him a small vial of his potion.

 

Ray downed the cure for boils and quickly noticed his face clear up.

 

“Thanks,” Ray sighed a breath of relief.

“Excellent work Mr. Snart. Not only did you prepare the potion correctly but you also managed to save Mr. Palmer here a trip to the nurse’s office. Well done. Five points to Ravenclaw,” Merlyn told him.

 

Leonard was admittedly impressed with himself. So far, he had earned his house a total of 55 points in just the past two days alone and seemingly earned the respect of at least two of his teachers. And considering they were the ones who concerned him he’d take it not wanting to risk getting on either of the men’s bad sides. Now if only he could finish reading that Animagus book he borrowed from the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking about maybe making Leonard become an animagus later on in the story. The only question is: what animal would he transform into? Please let me know what animal you think would be most likely for him along with an explanation as to why you believe that and as always feel free to leave comments. :-)


	5. Hotheaded

Halfway through the week Leonard had come to a few conclusions. First: he didn’t trust Professors Darhk or Merlyn farther than he could throw them. Second: Mick is the worst person to have a class with. And third: he is especially terrible to have a class with when your Herbology professor is teaching you the Fire-Making Charm to deal with unruly plants such as the Devil’s Snare.

 

Len always knew that Mick was a firebug. In hindsight he probably should have warned Professor Longbottom about this fact before Mick set the greenhouse on fire. Lucky for them their professor was an incredibly competent wizard and was able to put the fire out rather quickly using the Extinguishing Spell.

 

“Alright class that would be it for our lesson on the Fire-Making Charm. Mr. Rory, you have detention and just lost Slytherin thirty points. For future reference the Fire-Making Charm is not a toy and should only be used for practical purposes not entertainment. Is that clear?” Neville asked Mick as he tried to remain calm about his class literally going up in flames.

“Yes sir,” Mick replied weakly.

“Good. Now seeing as how the greenhouse is still smoking I am afraid we will have to cut class short today. We’ll meet again tomorrow at 11:30. In the meantime, study your texts and please don’t burn down the school,” Neville added before returning his attention to the greenhouse to try and assess the damage.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. I have a feeling I’ll only be getting myself in more trouble if I don’t leave,” Mick said to Leonard.

“Yeah seriously have you gone a single day of the school year without getting detention?” Leonard asked his troublesome friend.

“Nope. Hey, didn’t you have your bag with you a second ago?” Mick asked in response.

“Oh crap!” Len shouted as he ran back into the greenhouse to find his bookbag.

 

Leonard ran through the haze of smoke coughing as he entered the room.

 

“Mr. Snart, I presume this is your bag?” Neville asked him, holding up the boy’s bag as he took note of him entering the greenhouse.

“Yes sir. Thank you,” Leonard replied as he took the bag from his professor’s hand.

“It’s a good thing your friend’s charm missed the bag otherwise you’d have to buy all new books and nobody really wants to do that.”

“Very true sir. Before I go can I ask a question?”

“Yes I killed Voldemort’s snake. Yes, I know Harry Potter. Yes, I-”

“No, not that. I was wondering what you knew of Professors Darhk and Merlyn. Do you trust them?” Leonard interrupted.

“Oh, well that’s a refreshing question to be asked. Um I don’t really know that much about them to be honest. I know that Malcolm, err, Professor Merlyn has a son Tommy who is a squib, and I’ve heard him mention a daughter though I don’t know anything about her. Seems a bit trustworthy though. As for Professor Darhk while I don’t know him at all I’ll have to admit that I don’t really trust him all too much. I don’t quite know what it is he just has this aura of dishonest charm. Does that make any sense? I don’t believe it makes any sense.”

“No it makes perfect sense and honestly I’m just glad I’m not the only one who finds them suspicious.”

“Oh good, you see it too. Some of the other professors think I’m mad for not liking them.”

“I have a rather good sense when it comes to these things. Trust me your distrust of them is not misplaced.”

“Right then, well you best be off. You probably have studying to do and I have to finish cleaning up Mr. Rory’s mess,” Neville added as he brushed a bit of ash away from a few mandrakes.

“Of course sir. Don’t worry, I’ll keep Mick in check from now on.”

“Please do, for all our sakes.”

 

Leonard caught up to Mick as he headed inside the castle.

 

“Hey you got your bag. I was worried I might’ve blown it up on accident,” Mick said to him.

“It’s okay Mick but don’t get carried away like that again, got it?” Leonard insisted.

“Yeah, yeah. I got it, I got it.”

“Do you?”

“Yes!”

“Hey Heatwave nice job burning all the plants back there. I mean I hate weeds too but I would’ve just pulled them out instead of roasting them. Maybe that’s just me though,” Cisco said to Mick earning a small choir of laughs from the rest of their class.

“Heatwave huh? I like it. Suits me,” Mick replied with a smile that showed he was holding back anger at Cisco’s comment.

“Come on Mick, let’s just get out of here,” Leonard suggested.

“You know I don’t know why you hang out with him Cold. I mean all he does is cause trouble for you. You’re a good and responsible Ravenclaw student but hanging out with him is like the dumbest thing you could do. I mean you ever stop to think that maybe it’s your poor decision to be friends with him that made you a hatstall?” Cisco added.

“Ever think that maybe it would be smarter of you to keep your opinions to yourself?” Leonard shot back enraged at Cisco’s diss against his best friend.

“Hey I got sorted into Ravenclaw in less than a minute. You’re the one who gave the hat a hard time figuring out if you belonged in the smart house,” Cisco retorted.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Leonard shouted as he pulled his wand sending Cisco straight into the air.

“Woah! Hey put me down!” Cisco screamed at him.

“Say you’re sorry to Mick! Say it!” Leonard screamed at him.

“Mr. Snart!” Headmistress McGonagall screamed as she came by.

 

Startled by the headmistress’s words Leonard’s focus on the Levitation Charm failed causing Cisco to drop suddenly from the air.

 

“Headmistress McGonagall,” Leonard said turning to face the witch.

“Mr. Snart I am surprised. I had heard only good things from your professors. This kind of behavior is unacceptable. Detention Mr. Snart and twenty points from Ravenclaw,” Minerva said to him.

“Thanks a lot Cold,” Cisco groaned.

“You started it!” Leonard shouted as he lunged at the other member of his house only to be held back by Mick.

“Cool it Snart, you don’t wanna get yourself in more trouble, do you?” Mick insisted.

“Wow, the hothead’s actually being the smart one for a change,” Cisco said before giving a small laugh.

“Mr. Ramon! I don’t know exactly what happened here but it seems rather obvious by your taunting that you instigated this incident. You have detention as well. Now run along preferably to separate areas of the castle. I don’t want to see or hear of you boys fighting like this again. Do you understand?” Minerva reprimanded.

“Yes ma’am,” the boys replied.

“Good, now if you’ll excuse me I have some business to discuss with Professor Stein regarding an incident that occurred in his Transfiguration class this morning. Good day gentlemen,” Minerva said with a nod as she took her leave.

 

Leonard and Mick then glared at Cisco and their fellow students standing behind him as they went their separate ways for the day.

 

“Just ignore him,” Mick suggested when he noticed Leonard turn back to glare at Cisco who was sticking his tongue out at him.

“He insulted you and you want me to just ignore that?” Leonard asked him still angry about what just happened.

“Yeah. Look, I know I’m bad news and Ramon can say whatever he wants about me but if you start getting into fights over it then you just prove him right. You prove that you’re an idiot for being friends with me and I don’t know about you but I don’t want him to be right. Now I want you to promise me you won’t pick a fight with him or anyone else over me again. Promise?” he asked holding out his hand.

“Mick, I-” Leonard sighed.

“Promise?” he asked more forcefully.

“Promise,” Leonard replied as he took Mick’s hand and shook it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave comments.


	6. Flying

At last it was Friday, the day he would have his first flying lesson. Sara and Mick had already had theirs the day prior and according to Mick it was rather boring as they were instructed to remain low to the ground during the session but Leonard didn’t care. He’d dreamed of flying for years and would take whatever form that took be it hundreds of feet in the air or even just a few measly inches above the ground. Granted he’d prefer the former but still. There was just one thing wrong with it.

 

“Hello class. I am Professor Hunter as you should already be aware since you’ve all had Charms class with me and if you don’t know who I am well then you probably shouldn’t be cutting class,” Rip lectured much to Leonard’s annoyance.

 

He didn’t know what it was about this man but he just couldn’t stand him. He may not be a bad guy but he just really, really couldn’t bear listening to this man talk.

 

“So Professor Hunter’s teaching two classes?” Leonard heard Ray ask Cisco in a hushed voice.

“Apparently,” Cisco shrugged.

“Why?” Ray asked.

“Mick thinks it’s because of budget cuts,” Leonard butted in.

“Mick can think?” Cisco teased.

“Dude, be nice,” Ray reprimanded.

“Ahem! Pay attention!” Rip shouted at the three boys.

“Yes sir,” Cisco replied.

“Sorry Professor,” Ray added.

 

Leonard simply nodded his response not wanting to talk any further.

 

“Good. Now everyone, step up to the left side of the broom. Place your right hand over the broomstick and say up in a forceful and confident tone of voice as loud and clear as you can,” Rip instructed.

“Loud huh? Guess that means you’re out of luck Snart seeing as how you’re usually quiet as a mouse,” Cisco teased.

“I may be quiet as a mouse but at least I know how to keep my mouth shut when needed unlike _some_ people I know,” Leonard replied with a glare.

 

Cisco returned the glare with equal disdain. The class then began shouting up in mostly poor attempts to get their brooms to jump into their hand. Leonard, however, managed to achieve success on his first attempt much to Cisco’s jealousy.

 

“Hey, nice job there Snart,” Ray complimented before returning to his own broom.

“Up. Up! UP!” Cisco shouted at his broom until it smacked him in his face causing Leonard to burst out laughing.

“Not funny Snart,” Cisco snarled while rubbing his nose.

 

The entirety of the class eventually managed to get their brooms to rise into their hands.

 

“Very good class. Now that you have done that please mount your brooms and grip it tightly in your hands so that you don’t fall off,” Rip instructed with the class following his commands.

“Next you are to kick up from the ground while keeping your brooms steady as you can without having your feet touch the ground, hover for just a moment, then lean forward slightly in order to land. On my whistle. Ready,” he continued before blowing his whistle once.

 

The class then proceeded to do as instructed but due to some broomstick malfunction Leonard, instead of simply hovering a few feet in the air, shot up way above the castle towers.

 

“Mr. Snart, please remain calm and lean forward slowly so as to come back down,” Rip called out to him.

 

Leonard didn’t pay him any attention. He could see all of Hogwarts from this height. He could even see Hogsmeade in its entirety. The sight was glorious. He felt as if he had the world at his fingertips as if he could do almost anything. In all his life he had never felt so strong or confident before. It was quite a rush.

 

“MR. SNART! PLEASE GET DOWN HERE AT ONCE! DO NOT MAKE ME COME UP THERE TO GET YOU!” Rip screamed at him from the ground finally gaining his attention.

 

Logic says he should go down to the ground to avoid punishment. Logic says he should get down because he could hurt himself through inexperience. Logic says many things. Leonard doesn’t listen to any of them. Instead he takes off on the broom deciding to fly around the schoolgrounds for a bit.

 

“MR. SNART!” Rip screams.

“Oh bloody hell,” he muttered.

“Class you are to remain here with both feet on the ground until I get back. Anyone who disobeys will have detention scrubbing toilets for two weeks!” he finished as he grabbed a broom to chase after Leonard.

 

Leonard circled the Astronomy Tower three times before heading off to the bell towers striking one of the bells as he flew through the tower on the left. As the bell chimed Leonard felt a great sense of freedom and joy as he never had before when suddenly he found himself crossing paths with Rip who had finally caught up to him. Leonard looked at his professor and the fact that he had disobeyed a direct order finally hit him.

 

“Mr. Snart, detention. One week. You will report to the Detention Chamber at six o’clock sharp where you will meet with caretaker Argus Filch who will assign to you whatever chore he sees fit. Now, if you would care to rejoin your classmates so that we may continue with today’s lesson. That would be much appreciated,” Rip said calmly though very obviously brimming with rage.

“Yes Professor Hunter. Sorry.”

 

The pair then returned to the class where Cisco mocked him for going rogue and disrupting class against direct orders from a teacher. After class was over Leonard and the rest of Hogwarts’ students headed to the Great Hall for lunch. Leonard had his typical roast beef with mashed potatoes for lunch while Mick over at Slytherin table had roast chicken, pork chops, chips, and treacle tart. He always did have a big appetite. As Leonard alternated between eating lunch and reading his book on Animagi Sara came up and sat down next to him even though she was supposed to be over at Gryffindor’s table.

 

“Hey Len. Whatcha reading?”

“It’s a book on Animagi. Why aren’t you at Gryffindor table? Getting sick of Jax and Amaya?”

“No, I just wanted to talk to you. You’ve spent the whole day either in your flying class, nice job by the way, or in the Ravenclaw dormitories. I haven’t been able to talk to you all day.”

“So you heard about flying class huh?”

“Oh yeah, Mick burst out laughing when he heard about it. So tell me, what exactly is an Animagi and why are you reading about it?”

“First of all Animagi is the plural form, singular is Animagus. Second of all, Animagi are wizards and witches who can transform into an animal at will after going through a long and complicated ritual. It’s quite advanced magic really. Not even taught in school because if you do it wrong then you could wind up turning into a permanent twisted human animal hybrid.”

“Yikes, then why are you going to do it during your first year?”

“I never said I was going to become an Animagus. I’m just… studying.”

“Yeah something that isn’t taught by the school. Look if you are going to try and do this just be really careful okay. I don’t want to see you turn into some sort of hideous bat monster or something.”

“I doubt it would be a bat that I’d transform into anyway. The animal form isn’t something one chooses it’s something that reflects who you are on the inside. Personally I think I’d wind up transforming into something small and helpless.”

“Small and helpless? Really?”

“What? I am small and helpless.”

“Uh-huh, sure you are. Just one more thing though. If you really believe that’s the kind of animal you’d turn into then why are you even considering it?”

“It’s not so much about wanting to become an Animagus it’s more about proving that I can do it. Like I said, it’s really advanced magic. If I could pull it off in my first year I’m sure it would impress my father a lot. Maybe even make him proud of me,” Leonard explained finishing with a weak, hopeful smile.

“Well, good luck I suppose. I should probably get back to my table. See you later,” Sara said while getting up to leave.

“Bye,” Leonard waved before returning to his meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave comments. Feedback is much appreciated and always responded to.


	7. Suspicious Words

A few weeks had gone by in the year so far with Leonard learning many things such as how to turn a desk into a pig, the Knockback Jinx, and the Wand-Lighting Spell the latter of which he used excessively when reading late at night or whenever he was heading to his Wednesday night Astronomy class like he was right now. He was just about to round a corner when he heard the voices of Professors Darhk and Merlyn.

 

“I know what Thawne said but I’m telling you Damien, Savage cannot be allowed to win the upcoming election. If he does it would only mean trouble for the both of us,” Merlyn argued in a hushed tone.

“Don’t you think I know that? But Thawne is confident that his influence in the Ministry will be able to secure both our positions when Savage inevitably wins and that his term will be extremely short,” Darhk argued in return.

“Short term or not, Vandal Savage is one of the most dangerous men I have ever met and if he becomes the next Minister for Magic we’ll both be in hot water no matter what Thawne plans to do. And besides do you really think that he’s sane to think that a mere boy could stop someone like Savage?”

“It may not be the most logical assumption on the surface but you and I have both seen how quickly he’s advanced in his magical ability and Thawne knows things that you and I never could. If he says that the boy is capable of this then we should trust he knows what he’s talking about. After all, wasn’t it Thawne who helped you take your daughter from Moira? Wasn’t it him who saved your son’s life when he went and nearly got himself killed trying to prove he could perform magic when he had none? Wasn’t it Thawne who-” Darhk argued while starting to raise his voice.

“Enough!” Merlyn screamed at him.

“You’re right. We owe Thawne a lot or at the very least we owe him our trust. And perhaps he is right. Perhaps the boy is capable of stopping Savage, after all he has shown a level of skill far exceeding a typical wizard his age,” he continued in a calmer tone.

“Indeed,” Darhk agreed before noticing a few students who were heading off to the Astronomy Tower.

“We best be off. We don’t want to risk anyone overhearing these conversations,” he continued before walking down the corridor with Merlyn not noticing Leonard as they passed the hall he was hiding behind.

 

Leonard then rushed off to his class just barely avoiding being late as he met up with Mick and the other Ravenclaw and Slytherin first years.

 

“Hey, what took you so long? You were almost late,” Mick asked him.

“I got sidetracked. Now shush I’d rather you not get us another round of detention,” Leonard replied.

“Oh please you and I both know I don’t get in trouble when we’re stargazing.”

“Would both of you shut up?” Cisco demanded in a hushed tone much to Leonard’s annoyance.

“Seriously why did I have to get stuck in the same house as _him_?” Leonard groaned.

“Could be worse. At least you don’t have to bunk with Sydney talking in his sleep about how great he is. I swear that kid’s got a bigger ego than even your old man has,” Mick replied.

“I didn’t think that was possible.”

 

They spent the rest of the class studying the constellations by the light of the full moon before heading off to bed. Just before getting ready for sleep, however, Leonard took the Mandrake leaf he took from Herbology class that morning and put it in his mouth. He pressed the leaf flat against the inside of his cheek hoping that would be the easiest way to contain it for the next month as he began his attempt at the Animagus ritual.

 

He had studied the process night and day for weeks and rehearsed the proper pronunciations of the incantation’s words frequently. If all went according to plan he would be able to transform from human to animal and vice versa at will whenever he wanted to. If all went according to plan he would be the youngest wizard ever to successfully complete the ritual. If all went according to plan perhaps he might hear his father say that he was proud of him.

 

Leonard spent the rest of the night dreaming of what it would be like to become an Animagus and wondering what his Animagus form would be. Several animals he considered included a snowshoe hare, a mouse, and even a fish. Though he really hoped he wouldn’t turn into a fish. Not exactly useful on land and not much really happens in water. Unless of course one were to count the Great Lake, though in that case he would probably be eaten by the merpeople that lived there.

 

The next morning Leonard rushed down to the Great Hall for breakfast being careful not to accidentally swallow or damage the leaf in his mouth as he ate his porridge and drank his milk. Mick then came up and sat down beside him.

 

“Hey,” Mick said in greeting.

“Hey Mick.”

“Don’t you think you should eat something besides porridge? I mean it doesn’t have a whole lot of flavor. Unlike this extra crispy bacon,” Mick said waving a strip of bacon in Leonard’s face before chomping down on it.

“Don’t you think you should be eating at your own table? Sheriously Mick you know Cishco and the other Ravenclaws don’t like you too much,” Leonard said trying not to slur his words with the Mandrake leaf in his mouth.

“You like me and you’re a Ravenclaw ain’t you?”

“Yesh but I’m the rare exception,” Leonard replied before turning back to his porridge.

“What’s wrong with your voice? You sound weird.”

“Nothing’sh wrong. I’m eating. It’sh hard to talk with a full mouth,” Leonard said as he ate a spoonful of his food before glancing over at the teacher’s table eyeing Professors Darhk and Merlyn.

“If you say so. Hey what are you staring at the teachers for?”

“I overheard Profeshors Darhk and Merlyn talking last night on my way to Ashtronomy class. They were talking about shomeone named Vandal Savage and a man they called Thawne. They were talking about an election and how they were afraid of Savage winning it and then they mentioned something about a boy stopping him somehow. Sounded like they were referring to a shtudent though.”

“That’s weird. Almost as weird as the way you’re talking. You sure you’re okay?”

“Yesh Mick I’m fine,” Leonard replied with an eyeroll.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to be here. Go back to the Slytherin table where you belong,” Cisco said to Mick.

“Relax I was just talking to my friend about something important,” Mick replied.

“Yeah, like what?”

“Like the election for Minister for Magic that’sh coming up. I hear someone named Vandal Savage ish running,” Leonard replied.

“What’s wrong with your voice?” Cisco questioned with a confused look on his face.

“Nothing. Hey, you read the news all the time. What do you know about this Savage pershon?” Leonard replied as he tried to be more careful at not slurring his words and failing ever so slightly.

“Just that he’s a high-ranking member of the Ministry and that he’s been eyeing the Minister position for a few years now. Why?”

“No reason. Just curioush is all.”

“Alright then. Well hopefully whatever’s wrong with your speech will fix itself soon and Mick will remember which table he’s supposed to be sitting a- Hey!” Cisco shouted as some scrambled eggs hit the back of his head.

“Oops,” Sara replied from the Gryffindor table behind him as Leonard and Mick burst out laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are you guys liking the story so far? Is it good? Not good? Please let me know what you think down below in the comments. :-)


	8. Listen Well

Leonard spent the next few days following Professors Darhk and Merlyn around to listen in on any more suspicious conversations they might have. So far what he overheard included things like:

 

“Thawne sent word. He believes that Savage might be onto him,” Darhk informed his fellow professor.

“Let’s hope he’s not, for all our sakes. If Thawne were to be outed then our connections to him would be called into question and if the Ministry finds reason they might very well put us in Azkaban. I have two children at home that need me I can’t be sent to prison for Eobard’s actions,” Merlyn replied.

“Yes I know. How are your children by the way? You mentioned something about Tommy being in a muggle prep school. How’s that going?”

“My children are fine. Tommy’s still disappointed about not being able to attend Hogwarts and is extremely jealous of Thea who will be coming to attend next year. How’s that daughter of yours Nora?”

“She’s well. Still not quite old enough to begin her schooling at Hogwarts but it does look like she’ll be attending when she turns 11.”

 

That conversation went on for about another five minutes before Leonard realized they were done talking about the important things regarding Vandal Savage and their friend Thawne whoever he was. He tried eavesdropping on other conversations but another student would come up and alert the professors to his presence at whatever corner or tree he was hiding behind. He really needed to work on his stealth or perhaps obtain an invisibility cloak somehow. Right now, however, he needed to focus on Charms class.

 

“Alright class now the last thing I want you all to do today is to make sure you have your goggles on properly and point your wands at that far wall as you recite the spell Lumos Solem. Now, goggles on and begin,” Professor Hunter instructed.

“Lumos Solem!” the class said in unison with Leonard thankful he had finally managed to work out how to speak properly with the Mandrake leaf in his mouth so he could perform the spell.

 

Light then began to emanate from each of their wands. Well, most of their wands. For some odd reason one of Sara’s fellow Gryffindors, Barry, was having trouble getting his wand to light and mistakenly pointed his wand in his face as he removed his goggles to check on his wand only to then be blinded by the spell.

 

“Mr. Allen, this is why we wear goggles in class. Off to the nurse’s office with you. Go on. Mr. Ramon shall escort you,” Rip ordered as he noticed Barry’s mishap.

“Come on buddy this way,” Cisco said as he took his friend Barry by the arm and led him out of the classroom.

“Alright class that will be all for today. Be sure to do your assignment on the Blackboard Writing Charm I will be testing you on it when next we meet. Mr. Snart might I have a word?” Rip addressed the class before turning to Leonard who was about to head out the door.

 

Leonard turned back around to walk up to Professor Hunter’s desk.

 

“Of course sir. What’s this about? Did I do something wrong?” he asked his professor.

“No, no, not at all. I just wanted to ask you about the way you’ve been following Professors Darhk and Merlyn lately. Is there any particular reason you’ve decided to take to snooping?”

“No sir… Well actually there is. You see I overheard a rather odd conversation they had last Wednesday about an upcoming election. The way they spoke sounded almost suspicious. And they’ve never really struck me as ‘good’ people especially when you take into account that I overheard them talk about getting sent to Azkaban for associating with someone they call Thawne. I don’t know who he is but the way they talk about him makes it sound like all three of them are up to something. Something bad.”

“Ah, Eobard Thawne, I know that man and you are right to be suspicious.”

“I am?”

“Yes. Mr. Thawne, while an Auror whose job it is to _catch_ dark wizards, does do an awful lot of associating with them. I am fully aware of who he is and what his goals are and believe me when I tell you that it would probably be best if you went about _avoiding_ Professors Darhk and Merlyn from now on instead of seeking them out to spy on them. It will only lead to trouble, trouble you do not need Mr. Snart. I wouldn’t trust those two further than I could throw them and I would advise you to do the same. Is that understood?”

 

Leonard nodded in response to his professor’s words.

 

“Yes sir. And believe me I know what kind of men they are. I’ve always had a good sense when it comes to these things,” he told Rip.

“That so? Just out of curiosity what is it that you sense about me? I’ve noticed you look at me funny sometimes.”

“Permission to speak freely sir?”

“Of course. By all means. I did, after all, ask for your honest opinion.”

“It’s not so much that I don’t trust you. Just that you strike me as stiff, pretentious, and a tad mysterious at times. There’s just something off about you that I can’t quite figure out. If you gave me the same sense of darkness that Professor Darhk or Professor Merlyn did I’d be inclined to investigate but seeing as how you don’t I’d rather spend my time on more important things.”

“Like spying on your teachers? Or perhaps attempting the Animagus ritual?” Rip questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about Professor.”

“I’m sure you don’t. You best be off now. Wouldn’t want to keep you from your next class.”

“Good day Professor,” Leonard said as he left the room.

“Good day Mr. Snart.”

 

Leonard left his Charms classroom with a sense of concern toward his goals of becoming an Animagus. It wasn’t that he was trying to go unregistered or anything. He just figured that with how advanced and complicated the ritual is that his professors would try to talk him out of it or even take measures to stop him if they found out. The very same reason he kept his intentions secret from his own friends. No doubt Mick would blab about it to just about anyone with how big of a mouth he had on him.

 

It wasn’t just concern for his plan he had on his mind as he left Professor Hunter’s classroom. The man seemed to not only have the same concerns with Professors Darhk and Merlyn as he had but also seemed to know exactly what they were up to with that Auror friend of theirs. But considering it seemed that Professor Hunter wasn’t doing anything about it he figured he’d have to instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone enjoying the story? Anyone have any questions regarding the plot or the characters? Please let me know what your thoughts are down below in the comments.


	9. The Mysterious Mr. Thawne

It had been a little over a week since his talk with Professor Hunter about keeping his distance from Professors Darhk and Merlyn but he still couldn’t help himself. His curiosity was getting the better of him. He had to know what they were up to. Given the special guest in today’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Leonard thought he might actually get some more information.

 

“Good morning class. I would like to introduce to you my good friend Mr. Eobard Thawne. Say hello everyone,” Darhk explained.

“Hello Mr. Thawne,” the class said in unison.

“Hello everyone,” Thawne replied.

“Mr. Thawne here is an Auror. As an Auror it’s his job to catch dark witches and wizards such as some more famous examples of Bellatrix Lestrange, Fenrir Greyback, Gellert Grindewald, and Lord Voldemort of course in those cases they all met their end at the hands of non-Aurors such as the famed Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Now I’m sure all of you have some idea of what makes a person a dark witch or wizard but just to make things perfectly clear a dark witch or wizard is a person who uses magic for nefarious and typically illegal purposes. But what are illegal uses of magic? Mr. Thawne perhaps you could explain it for us?” Darhk said handing the lecture over to his friend.

“Of course Professor Darhk. Now class among the acts of magic that are considered illegal are the three Unforgivable Curses which you won’t be learning about for a few years, the use of flying carpets, underage magic, being an unregistered Animagus,” Thawne said looking straight to Leonard as he passed by his desk while walking down the aisle between the desks.

“And many, many, many other things as well. Now Professor Darhk tells me that you were supposed to read over chapter three of your books, which lists every single act of illegal magic, since your last class. So, let’s test which of you read the chapter and or how much of it you retained,” Thawne finished as he waved his wand sending a stack of multiple page quizzes flying around the room until they landed at each student’s desk.

“You have the rest of class to answer each and every question regarding illegal magic that is on this test and yes, it does cover _every_ act of illegal magic,” Darhk said earning a choir of groans.

“And begin!” the professor finished.

 

The students all begin their tests with most of the Ravenclaws flying through the questions easily while the Hufflepuffs for the most part had difficulty answering them as they all seemed to be scratching their heads. Leonard, however, having the impeccable memory that he did and having already memorized the book was able to get through the quiz in record time as he set the finished test sheet on Professor Darhk’s desk after only twenty minutes. It would have been shorter but the essay questions took a while to write down the answers for. Good memory he had, fast writing skills he did not.

 

“Excellent work Mr. Snart. Hopefully you finished so soon due to brilliance and not excessive cockiness,” Darhk remarked.

“So that’s Leonard Snart?” Thawne asked quietly receiving a small nod from Darhk in response.

“Huh, I thought he was taller,” he finished.

“You sure that _he’s_ the wizard who’s destined to defeat Savage?” Darhk asked dubiously in a hushed tone.

“Positive. Although for quite a few years it was believed that a friend of his, Sara Lance, was the one responsible but of course it was later revealed by the insipid reporter Rita Skeeter that she merely took the credit because Leonard didn’t want the public, or more accurately, his father to know what he had done.”

“Really? Why wouldn’t he want the credit?”

“There were several theories when I’m from though none of them were ever confirmed by Leonard himself. We would have to ask him one day.”

“Uh-huh and remind me again why we have to wait to put our plans into action?”

“Because now is not the right time. Now is the time for Savage and his downfall. If we went ahead in our goals now we would only fail and be brought down same as Vandal surely will be.”

“Right, by an eleven year old boy,” Darhk replied sarcastically.

“Actually he’d be twelve at the time of Savage’s defeat but that’s beside the point. You can mock my claims all you want Damien but I can assure you Leonard Snart is a far more capable and powerful wizard than even he has yet to realize. Mark my words.”

“Marked,” Darhk replied as he sarcastically made a check mark in the air.

 

Leonard watched the two men talk from his desk and though he couldn’t hear anything he could swear his name had been mentioned several times during their conversation based on what little he could make out from reading their lips. He figured they were probably talking about how he had been spying on Professors Darhk and Merlyn something they had undoubtedly noticed given how easy it was for Professor Hunter to catch wind of it. From what he could see of Mr. Thawne, Professor Hunter had been right in his comments about the man being untrustworthy.

 

He'd think more on the subject but right now he had to put some chewing gum in his mouth to counteract the awful flavor the Mandrake leaf was starting to leave. It was bad enough when he first put the leaf in but now that almost two weeks had gone by and the leaf was most likely starting to turn rotten it had gotten even worse. _Just a couple more weeks_ , he thought, and he’d be able to remove the leaf and move onto the next step in the Animagus process. Unless of course it turned out to be a cloudy night during the next full moon in which case he’d have to start over.

 

Once class was over Leonard decided to have a word with this mysterious Mr. Thawne to see what it was he and Professor Darhk might have been saying about him earlier. He was certain that his name had come up in their conversation.

 

“Sir, might I have a word?”

“Of course. You’re Leonard Snart, right?” Thawne replied.

“Yes sir. I’m Lewis Snart’s son. You work with him in the Auror’s office.”

“Ah yes I do believe I’ve met him. Rather unpleasant man he is. So, what can I do you for?”

“I believe I overheard you mention my name to Professor Darhk earlier. Might I ask why?”

“Certainly. He and I were talking about your outstanding academic success. I’m actually rather surprised that your father hasn’t mentioned it back at the office. I would think he’d be extremely proud of you.”

“My father’s not the type to take pride in other people’s accomplishments.”

“So it would seem. I on the other hand am quite impressed by your achievements. From what I hear you have yet to get less than a hundred percent on any of your homework. No doubt the result of having excellent teachers such as Professor Darhk or Professor Merlyn.”

“Actually it has to do with the fact that not being sorted into Slytherin has me even more motivated to get good grades to earn my father’s approval.”

“Well whatever the case, you seem to be doing rather well in your studies. Who knows, perhaps one day you could become one of the most powerful wizards of your generation. Good day Mr. Snart,” Thawne said as he left the room.

“Good day,” Leonard replied with a curious look on his face.

 

He may not know much about this Eobard Thawne yet but he had a feeling it would do him well to keep an eye on him. After all, anyone who gives him a negative vibe and hangs out with two other people with the same vibe needs to be watched closely. Very closely. But right now he desperately needed to find some way to neutralize the Mandrake leaf’s horrid taste before it made him hurl. He really didn’t want to have to start over and he was far too determined to make this work to give up. Leonard Snart was many things but a quitter certainly wasn’t one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what's everyone liking about the story so far? What are the negative aspects you want to see improved? Please let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.


	10. Poor Unfortunate Leonard

It had finally been a month since he first put the Mandrake leaf in his mouth. This was supposed to be when he’d move onto the next step. But of course Leonard Snart’s luck was as rotten as it had always been. He had intended to take the leaf out of his mouth and put it in a vial to receive the full moon’s rays but of course it just had to rain the night of the full moon. Stupid British weather. Why did it have to rain so much?

 

* _sigh_ *

Guess he’d just have to start over with a new leaf. Luckily, Leonard Snart was always one to be prepared for every contingency having anticipated this and grabbed another Mandrake leaf from the Greenhouse earlier that day. He was actually surprised he hadn’t tracked in a ton of mud from his little heist given how much of it had collected on his boots while he was out. Not that he’d complain. He knew it’d be suspicious for him to have been in the Greenhouse on a day he didn’t have Herbology class.

 

Nevertheless his first attempt had failed and now he could only hope that the next full moon would be clear so he didn’t have to keep yet another leaf in his mouth for a month. He really didn’t want to have to start over a second time but he also really, really didn’t want to give up. He was far too stubborn to quit something he had put so much effort and planning into.

 

Still, if he had to keep those godawful leaves in his mouth for much longer he’d hurl. There was no word to describe how disgusting those leaves tasted after a couple weeks soaking in his saliva and swimming around with the food he’d eat during the day. He’d stuck to a diet of soups and porridge for the most part to ensure he didn’t accidentally swallow the leaf or damage it when he chewed and while the bland taste of those foods were enough to make him groan the way they interacted with the rancid flavor of the Mandrake leaf was sure to drive him batty.

 

“What’s with that face?” Sara asked him as she came over to Ravenclaw table the next morning while Leonard made a face that looked like he was going to hurl.

 

Really. He was getting quite sick of having porridge every day for breakfast.

 

“What face? This is just-” Leonard said before he had to suppress a gag.

“My face,” he finished as he choked down a bite of really bland, really tasteless, really clumpy porridge.

“Uh-huh, sure it is,” she said in disbelief as she bit into a sausage.

“What are you even doing at this table anyway? Are you trying to get in trouble for breaking the rules or something?” he asked her.

“No. I was just bored over there. Jax and Amaya are fun and all but they can get tiresome sometimes. What about you and the Ravenclaws? Cisco still giving you a hard time?”

“Yes and I don’t know why. I never did anything to him… Well, I used the Levitation Charm on him but that was only after he insulted Mick and anyway Ramon’s been a pain in the arse since school started. I don’t know what his problem is with me.”

“Have you asked him?”

“Asked him? Are you nuts? What good would that do?”

“Maybe get the two of you to reach an understanding and stop picking on each other?”

“Yeah cause I’m so sure that Ramon can be reasonable. Honestly, it’s not even that big of a problem. I mean I’ve dealt with far worse than him my whole life. If I can survive Lewis Snart than I can certainly survive silly little Cisco.”

“You don’t talk about your father much. And when you do you never have a kind word to say about him. Why is that? I mean he can’t be that bad. He is, after all, your father.”

“You say that like it’s supposed to mean something. Men like my father don’t care about anyone but themselves. They’re incapable of caring about another living being no matter who they are, even their own flesh and blood. Leaving Lisa alone with him has left me wide awake at night more times than I can count. I can only imagine how much she’s gone through since I left for school,” Leonard replied bitterly with his expression growing sadder with each word out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry,” she said sympathetically while reaching across the table to grab his hand.

“Don’t be. I’ve had enough pity for a lifetime longer than what I’ve lived. And besides, those who take pity on us Snarts tend not to live long either. Father hates it when his kids accept charity or kindness of any sort. Why do you think I’ve never had a friend besides Mick before? Father only lets me be friends with him because he’s a pureblood too. Not too many of those going around these days with everyone losing their blood purity beliefs and whatnot. Purebloods are the only ones my father wants me and Lisa to associate with because he thinks anyone else would turn us into blood traitors poisoning our minds with kindness and sympathy towards muggle borns and half-bloods.”

“He sounds like a very narrow-minded individual.”

“Oh trust me you don’t even know the half of it.”

“I’m sure I don’t,” Sara replied sympathetically.

 

They both ate in silence for a moment with Leonard choking down as much of his porridge as he could stomach after the umpteenth time eating it.

 

“So just out of curiosity have you made _any_ friends in Ravenclaw? Whenever I see you with the others of your house you aren’t exactly talking with them. Well except Cisco but that’s only when the two of you are fighting about one thing or the other,” she asked decided to change the topic of conversation.

“Why would I need to make friends? I already have two. Three if you count my sister.”

“Don’t you want more than that though? Wouldn’t it be fun to have conversations with someone other than just me and Mick?”

“Not really, no. Besides if I talked to more people then I wouldn’t have any time for my studies.”

“Uh-huh and that extracurricular project of yours? Still think you’ll transform into something small and helpless?”

“It’s possible, though like I said before I have no intention of actually doing it. It’s just a bit of light reading is all.”

“Light reading? That book was huge! How do you consider that light reading?”

“Simple. Everything’s light reading if you enjoy it.”

“Enjoy what Snart?” Cisco asked as he walked up to them.

“You know Gryffindor table is over there, right?” he asked Sara.

“And you know I have a plate full of scrambled eggs I’d be more than happy to throw at your head again if you don’t stop picking on my friends,” she replied gesturing to her breakfast plate.

“Who said _I_ was picking on _them_? Mick’s a Slytherin and Snart here’s a well… Snart.”

“And?” she asked.

“And Slytherins are all evil and from what I know about Snarts they’re all cruel, vicious people.”

“Only my father fits that description actually. Me and my little sister are actually quite pleasant to be around. Not that I’m encouraging you to get to know me. Honestly, I’d prefer it more if you’d just sod off,” Leonard replied in an annoyed tone.

“And I’d prefer it if we didn’t share a dorm but guess what? Not everyone gets what they want.”

 

Leonard flashed Cisco an irritated smile before turning to Sara.

 

“May I?” Leonard asked her gesturing to her plate.

“By all means,” she said pushing the plate closer to him.

 

He grabbed a handful of eggs and threw them at Cisco only for him to dodge allowing them to hit Barry instead over at Gryffindor table.

 

“Hey!” Barry shrieked.

“Oh so that’s how you want it to be?” Cisco said grabbing Leonard’s bowl of porridge and flinging it in his direction missing as Leonard ducked under the table hitting Mick instead.

“FOODFIGHT!” Mick shouted as he started throwing food at Cisco and the rest of the students soon joined in on the chaos.

 

Food started flying everywhere and Leonard and Sara decided to take refuge under the table to avoid the mess.

 

“So much for breakfast,” Leonard sighed.

“You have a little something,” Sara said pointing to the piece of bacon that had somehow wound up on his shoulder in the chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I was just wondering if there was anything about the story so far that people were finding amusing or humorous at all. Can you tell me which parts you all thought were funny or even which ones made you groan? I'd really appreciate the feedback.


	11. Studying and Secret Plans

Leonard met up with Mick and Sara in the library after lunch on Friday to work on their homework together. Leonard was going through his homework with ease and Sara was doing fine but Mick was struggling badly with just the first question on his Charms homework.

 

“So, Vermillious is the green sparks, right?” he asked his friends while scratching his head.

“No, Mick, Vermillious is the spell that causes red sparks. Verdimillious produces green energy from a wand by means of sparks. Here watch,” Leonard explained to his friend as he took out his wand.

“Vermillious!” Leonard said as his wand emitted bright red sparks.

“Verdimillious!” he then incanted blasting at the wall producing a bright emerald green light that lit up the entire room.

“Cool! Thanks Len!” Mick chuckled at the sight of the bright colors as they flashed from his friend’s wand.

“No problem but you do realize that you should be paying attention in class so you can do this stuff on your own, right?” Leonard replied.

“Why would I need to do that when I’ve got you to help me?” Mick asked in response.

“Maybe because come third year you’ll have to sign up for at least two electives and there’s no guarantee either of us will have the same elective as you. And then come sixth year we’ll get to drop some of our core classes which would mean that we might wind up being in all different classes from each other. Better to start getting used to working this stuff out for yourself before that happens,” Sara added.

“Oh. But we will have some classes together, right? I mean I was looking at those electives you were talking about and Care of Magical Creatures sounded like a fun class we could all take,” Mick replied.

“Yeah actually it does. What do you say, Sara? Think you’ll sign up for that class in our third year?” Leonard smiled.

“Maybe. I don’t know. That’s still a couple years away. Hey Len, how’d Flying class go today?”

“It went okay. Professor Hunter says I’m a natural at it. Though honestly, I just think he’s being nice. I swear I’m having trouble with sharp turns.”

“Everyone has trouble with sharp turns! Those brooms they give us to use suck. Just ask any of the Quidditch players. I heard one of them poking fun at us first years on my way to Flying class yesterday because of how bad the brooms are,” Mick interjected.

“Really? Oh, so… I guess I actually am doing well after all. Not a true comment on skill if the equipment doesn’t work right,” Leonard shrugged.

“Right then can we please get back to studying? I have a test in Professor Stein’s Transfiguration class on Monday and I still can’t tell some of these transfiguration symbols apart!” Sara suggested.

 

The three of them returned to their books only breaking for dinner. After their meal they returned to their studies with Mick frequently asking questions when he was confused on something. Which was basically at every question because he failed to pay attention during class. Leonard hoped Mick would do better in his classes. He’d hate to see his friend get held back especially during his first year. He was certain that if Mick got held back that his father would see Mick as a bad influence or some crap and keep him from being friends with him anymore.

 

He knew he shouldn’t be helping Mick as much as he was given that his friend wouldn’t learn anything that way but if it allowed Mick to keep his grades up enough to remain in the same class as him it was well worth it. Mick had always had his back growing up and Leonard swore he would always have his in return. Even if it meant getting into trouble for standing up against Cisco and his mean taunts about Mick’s troublemaking antics.

 

Honestly though, Leonard would have to admit getting into trouble when the punishment wouldn’t involve the Cruciatus Curse was actually quite exciting. He found the thrill in getting away with bad ideas or even getting caught red-handed to be almost addictive. Perhaps that was part of his reasoning behind hiding his attempts at the Animagus ritual. The three of them had spent so long in the library studying Leonard didn’t notice when the full moon went up and found himself rushing to leave to get his vial for the next step knowing full well that it was a clear night.

 

“Where are you going?” Mick asked him.

“I just remembered that I have detention and I’m running late. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Leonard said as he excused himself from the library knowingly lying to his friend about detention.

 

He rushed to get his crystal vial and placed his Mandrake leaf inside before setting it on the windowsill to catch the moon’s light. He then headed outside being careful not to be seen so as to collect one of the other ingredients, the silver teaspoon of dew that hasn’t seen sunlight or been touched by human feet for seven days. Normally this would be one of the hardest parts of the ritual since there is virtually nowhere where dew collects that isn’t touched by the sun.

 

But Leonard had been more clever than that. He had set a plank of wood aside one of the castle walls where he noticed no student ever goes knowing that this would keep the dew from being touched by human feet or even the sun a week prior to the moon. Once the dew was collected he ran back to his dorm where the vial was and added the dew to it along with one of his own hairs and the chrysalis of a Death’s-head Hawk Moth. He then headed off to the only dark and quiet place he knew of, the Room of Requirement.

 

He had spent several weeks searching for the room pacing back and forth thrice along each hall while thinking of what he needed until he finally found it, transformed to hold within a safe that was so sound-proof that it had almost a foot of padding surrounding it. He placed the vial inside the safe and turned to leave the room.

 

The next morning he woke moments before sunrise thanks both to how much he studied the sun’s schedule with the help of his Astronomy books and an alarm he set much to his dormmates dismay. He then tiptoed down from the dormitories into Ravenclaw Tower while everyone else slept and looked out the window making absolutely certain he got the timing just right. He had to chant the words at sunrise exactly with the tip of his wand placed over his heart.

 

“Here goes nothing. Amato Animo Animato Animagus!” Leonard recited perfectly right as the sun rose.

 

He smiled as he looked out at the rising sun and opened the window to breathe in the cool November air grateful that things were starting to work out for him. Maybe he would succeed after all, he thought to himself. His peace and quiet was eventually interrupted by the rest of Ravenclaw waking up to join him in the common room.

 

“Mind telling us why you set your alarm so early?” Cisco asked with a yawn as he came down the stairs.

“Just wanted to watch the sunrise. I hear it’s therapeutic and considering how much you stress me out I figured I needed it,” Leonard replied.

“So, uh, are you going to be setting the alarm that early again or was this just a one-time thing?”

“Definitely not a one-time thing I assure you. Though I suspect I’ll grow out of the habit at some point during the year. Maybe by February,” he teased.

 

Cisco groaned rolling his eyes as he headed off to the Great Hall for breakfast leaving Leonard behind to smile as things finally started going according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have the next chapter written and it's the one where Leonard finishes the ritual and becomes an Animagus! Everyone excited? Let me know your opinions on the story so far and feel free to ask questions if you have any. As always please feel free to leave comments!


	12. The Animagus Transformation

It had been about two weeks since the full moon. By now all the other Ravenclaws he shared a room with had come to hate him for setting his alarm so early and banished him from the dorm forcing him to sleep in the common room on the couch. Not that he complained. He actually liked it better there than sleeping a couple beds down from someone who snores loudly. He woke up that morning and recited the incantation with his wand over his heart just as he did every sunrise and sunset only this time he found a second heartbeat in his chest.

 

It was a weird sensation but one he found he liked. It made him feel… powerful, free, as if nothing in the world could hurt him not even his father. He stared out the window that morning taking in the stunning view from Ravenclaw Tower. The only thing that would make the view better were if he could see some more clouds in the sky. Leonard was typically a patient guy but waiting two weeks for an electrical storm for him to finally be able to complete the ritual was maddening. He was anxious. He couldn’t take it anymore.

 

But he had to just suck it up and head out for breakfast and his morning classes. He was glad these past couple of weeks that he was finally able to start eating bacon again and could ditch the bland porridge. He looked up at the Great Hall’s ceiling which mimicked the outside sky exactly and saw that it hadn’t changed much since he last saw it. He was rather disappointed by that fact and headed off to his morning Defense Against the Dark Arts class pouting ever so slightly out of impatience.

 

Professor Darhk was lecturing on the same things as always and while normally Leonard could take it all in and absorb so much of the information in the lectures he just couldn’t focus on what the Professor was saying, something Cisco took note of.

 

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Leonard replied indignantly.

“Right, uh-huh. You know people don’t normally pout when nothing’s wrong,” Cisco retorted.

“I’m not pouting.”

“You are and I want to know why.”

“Why?” Leonard asked with growing annoyance at his fellow Ravenclaw, though his impatience regarding the Animagus ritual probably had something to do with that too.

“Innate Ravenclaw curiosity. Come on just tell me. Tell me. Tellmetellmetellmetellme,” Cisco pestered.

“SOD OFF RAM-” Leonard started to scream at his dormmate before being interrupted by a clap of thunder and flash of lightning.

 

Exactly what he was waiting for.

 

“Mr. Snart, if you could please refrain from anymore outbursts-” Darhk started to say.

“Professor can I go to the bathroom? I think I ate something rotten at breakfast this morning,” Leonard said in as queasy a tone as he could muster while clutching his stomach.

“Please go. I’d rather not have you throw up all over my floors. Go!” Darhk answered as Leonard bolted out the door.

“He’s up to something,” Cisco muttered to himself as he chased Leonard out of the classroom.

“Mr. Ramon, I did not give you permission to leave. Mr. Ramon!” Darhk called after him.

 

Leonard ran as fast as he could to the Room of Requirement four floors up while Cisco followed as close behind him as he could without being seen. Leonard quickly disappeared into the room with the door vanishing as he closed it behind him. Cisco looked around the hall confused as to how Leonard could’ve disappeared so quickly.

 

Leonard then opened the safe in the middle of the room where his potion was and found it had turned blood red just as it was supposed to. He turned back to where the safe had been and found the room had changed to remove it as well as add a large mirror on the other side of the room. He then took out his wand and placed its tip against his heart.

 

“Amato Animo Animato Animagus!” he recited for a final time before taking the potion and drinking it quickly as he set his wand aside for later.

 

It didn’t take long for the fiery pain his books had warned him about to kick in. But he found it wasn’t nearly as bad as the Cruciatus Curse and figured if he could endure that countless times throughout his childhood then he could surely handle this. The only slightly unnerving thing about this initial transformation was the intense double heartbeat he was feeling. He knew it was coming, the books said as much. It was as if his heart was racing tenfold but twice over. He’d have thought he was going to die if he hadn’t been so prepared from his research.

 

He remained as calm as he possibly could as the transformation seemed to drag on for what felt like hours even though it had most likely been only a few minutes. He knew that panicking would only cause trouble in taking form and cause him to become deformed and permanently mutated and did his best to breathe properly as he turned into his Animagus form. As the transformation continued he could see in his mind’s eye the animal he was destined to become. A weak chuckle escaped his lips as he continued to endure the pain of the transformation.

 

“ _I should’ve guessed_ ,” he thought to himself with a smile.

 

The transformation was finally complete. He had become his truest self. He had become a husky with the darkest black and purest snow-white fur. He turned back to look at himself in the mirror and took in his new form. He stared at his fur all neat and tidy and his jaw looking strong and fierce. He had always had ice blue eyes but he found that in this new form they looked even bolder than ever which he wasn’t sure if it was because his eyes had changed so much in the transformation or if his canine vision made them look better.

But he certainly didn’t think he was stunning. No, perish the thought. And he definitely didn’t stare at his dog form for close to an hour strutting in front of the mirror like a runway model. No, certainly not. He rolled over onto his back to see his what his dog belly looked like and was slightly horrified by what he saw.

 

Down the left side of his belly was a thin patch of black fur in the same jagged line as the one and only scar his father ever gave him. He knew that Animagi had markings characteristic of their human forms but had hoped his wouldn’t have something like this to mark him. Guess he’d just have to live with it.

 

After finally being done with staring at his form he grabbed his wand in his mouth and took off out of the room. Cisco, who was still looking for Leonard, crossed paths with Headmistress McGonagall.

 

“Mr. Ramon, care to tell me why it is you left in the middle of your class?” she asked him.

“I was looking for Snart. He’s up to some- is that a dog?” Cisco replied before noticing Snart in his Animagus form running down the hall past him and McGonagall.

“With Snart’s wand?” he finished.

“Stop that dog!” McGonagall cried out as she started chasing after him concerned both with how a dog got into the castle and what it was doing with a student’s wand.

 

Leonard ran outside to find it had stopped raining as quickly as it had started and dropped his wand from his mouth before rolling on the wet grass. Upon hearing McGonagall’s voice sound from across the yard he turned his head in her direction.

“Where did that dog come from?” Cisco wondered as he followed the Headmistress outside.

“And why did it have Mr. Snart’s wand?” McGonagall asked.

 

Leonard then quickly transformed back into his human form.

 

“No worries miss. It’s only me,” he smiled at her.

“Mist- Mister Snart?” McGonagall asked in shock.

“Surprised?” Leonard asked as Cisco fainted at the sight.

“But- but how did you-” McGonagall tried to ask.

“I performed the Animagus ritual. Just finished today.”

“Ani- Animagus? But you- you’re a first year!” she exclaimed.

“Yes. Now could you help me contact the Ministry so I can register? I’d really rather not get sent to Azkaban at only eleven years old.”

“Um uh yes. Just uh just follow me to my office, if you’d please,” she replied gesturing to the door still in shock at Leonard’s success with the ritual.

“Certainly. Can I go up in Animagus form? I think I’m much faster as a dog.”

“Absolutely not. Dogs are not among the animals allowed in the castle. We can discuss later about possibly adjusting the rules to accommodate your newfound ability but until then you best follow me so we can have you registered.”

“Of course Headmistress,” he nodded following her inside the building.

“Oh and Mr. Snart?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t leave class for reasons like this again. Do you understand?” she asked seriously.

“Of course Headmistress," Leonard nodded.

 

A few days later members of the Ministry arrived to place Leonard on the registry by taking photographs of his Animagus form noting all the markings on his dog self, including the one he hated. After that was done and he signed all the paperwork he was officially on the registry and quickly wrote his father about the whole thing leaving out no detail. He was certain this achievement would earn his father’s approval and maybe even his love as well. What he wouldn’t give to have his father look at him with a smile instead of his usual sneer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! He's an Animagus now! What do you all think of his Animagus form? Thoughts on the chapter? Please leave comments down below.


	13. The Mistakes We Didn't Make

It wasn’t long after becoming an Animagus that Christmas Break rolled around. He was excited to see his sister again after so long and was very hopeful that his father would be pleased at his success with the Animagus ritual. He arrived on the train at Platform 9¾ where his sister ran up to greet him.

 

“Lenny!” she squealed as she threw her arms around him tightly.

“Hey Lisa. I missed you,” he smiled at her.

“Missed you more. Can you really turn into a dog? Can I see?” she asked excitedly.

“Sure,” he smiled at her before turning into his Animagus form.

 

Lisa then kneeled down to pet him with a big smile on her face.

 

“That’s enough Lisa,” Lewis interrupted.

“Yes father,” Lisa replied getting back to her feet and stepping back in apparent fear.

 

Leonard returned to his human form before nodding to Lewis.

 

“Father. It’s good to see you,” he said skittishly.

“Leonard,” was all Lewis said in return.

“You did get my letter, didn’t you? Telling you that I had become an Animagus? I only ask because I never got a respo-”

“We’ll talk at home,” Lewis said giving Leonard chills.

 

He only ever got these chills when his father was mad. He didn’t understand why. He’d thought his father would be proud of him for his accomplishment. He’d thought he’d be happy to see him this time. They arrived home and Leonard soon learned he was incredibly wrong when his face was struck by the back of Lewis’s hand upon walking through their front door causing him to fall to the ground.

 

“Father?” Leonard asked in fear.

“Shut up! Do you have any idea how what you did makes me look? To have my son’s magic outdo me at a mere eleven years old? You’ve performed some of the greatest magic of all time and because of that people see me as weak and useless by comparison.”

“I wasn’t trying to- I only wanted to make you proud!” Leonard pleaded as he saw his father brandish his wand.

“Proud?! You honestly thought I would be proud of someone who would make me look bad? You are a worthless disgraceful little brat and you need to be put in your place!”

“No! Father please! Don’t-”

“CRUCIO!” Lewis shouted as his wand shot out the red light of the Cruciatus Curse at Leonard.

 

Leonard doubled over in intense pain screaming as Lisa ran up the stairs to hide inside a second-floor closet. She could hear her brother’s screams of agony and tried to no avail to block it out by covering her ears. The sounds he made brought tears to the young girl’s eyes while just a floor below Leonard writhed on the floor in excruciating torture that lasted for over an hour before Lewis got tired of holding up his wand arm.

 

“That should teach you to show me up… For now,” Lewis sneered as he left for his room upstairs passing the closet Lisa had hidden in as she could see the shadows of his feet from the slit underneath the door.

 

She didn’t dare leave the safety of the closet afraid of what would happen if she did. Down below on the first floor Leonard laid on the floor sobbing softly to himself. Never before had his father used the curse on him for so long. Never before had he seen him so angry. Never before had he feared so much for his own safety. He couldn’t wait to go back to Hogwarts.

 

The break had finally ended after endless days of enduring his father’s wrath for performing the Animagus ritual and showing him up. Leonard had become almost numb during those two weeks. He wouldn’t talk to anyone, not Lisa, not even Mick. He kept to himself in his bedroom curled up under the bed though that didn’t stop his father from finding him and using the Cruciatus Curse on him. It was a miracle he managed to keep his sanity after so much torment.

 

He boarded the train and found a compartment where he just stared out the window while holding himself tightly. His knees were close to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. It wasn’t long before Mick showed up to greet him.

 

“Hey!” Mick said happily at first, glad to see his friend after two weeks of being avoided by him.

“Hey,” he said softer once he noticed how upset Leonard seemed.

“You okay?”

 

Leonard didn’t respond, didn’t even look at Mick to acknowledge his presence. He just kept staring out the window. Sara joined them soon and quickly took a seat beside Leonard throwing her arms around him to comfort him. Then of course Cisco showed up.

 

“Well, well, well if it isn’t Captain Cold. How was break? Your family doing we-” Cisco started to ask before being cut off by a very angry Mick.

“SOD OFF YOU ANNOYING LITTLE MUDBLOOD! Can’t you see he ain’t in the mood?” he screamed at him scaring Cisco into a retreat as Leonard buried his face in his arms.

 

They returned to school and Mick and Sara tried to do everything they could to make Leonard feel better with no luck. He eventually disappeared on them and ran off to be alone bumping into Mr. Thawne in the courtyard as he did.

 

“Oh Mr. Snart I didn’t see you there. I was just on my way to visit with Professors Darhk and Merlyn. Is everything okay?” Thawne asked.

“I’m fine,” Leonard replied quietly.

“Uh-huh. Mind if we talk for a moment?”

 

Leonard nodded his response following him over to a bench where they sat down.

 

“So, I hear you’ve become an Animagus. Your father must be so proud,” Thawne said.

“I don’t want to talk about my father.”

“You don’t? Ah I see. So he’s not proud then huh? A shame. It is quite a remarkable accomplishment. Many wizards wish they were able to do as you did.”

“I wish I never had.”

“Oh now don’t wish for that. You should take pride in your achievement. Just because your father can’t appreciate your talents doesn’t make you wrong for doing them. Being the youngest Animagus to ever live is perhaps the greatest achievement in the history of magic. To wish that away would be a terrible tragedy.”

“You don’t know my father too well do you, Mr. Thawne? He can take even the happiest moment of my life and crush it until there’s nothing left but pain and regret.”

“Well that still doesn’t mean you should wish away being an Animagus. You could simply wish to avoid your father ever learning of your achievement.”

“How would that work? He works at the Ministry he’d have heard of my registering no matter what I did.”

“Well no one ever said you had to register. There have been quite a few witches and wizards who’ve avoided both the registry and sentence in Azkaban.”

“There have?”

“Why yes of course. It’s too bad you can’t just turn back the clock and do the same as them. Except-” Thawne said pulling out a golden necklace with a small hourglass on it.

“Oh that’s right. You can,” Thawne finished with a smile as Leonard quickly realized what the man was holding.

“Is that-” Leonard asked.

“Shhhhhh, I expect you to return this to me once you’re done and with discretion of course. You and I both know that use of Time-Turners are strictly prohibited by the Ministry. Good day Mr. Snart,” Thawne said as he handed the Time-Turner to Leonard leaving him where he sat.

 

Leonard stared at the device for a moment before placing it around his neck and making quick work with it to send him to the day he first became an Animagus. He arrived in the past behind a tree of the courtyard he had run out to when he first transformed. He watched his younger self drop his wand from his dog mouth and begin rolling on the lawn. The elder Leonard quickly grabbed his wand and aimed it just beside his younger self.

 

“Verdimillious!” he recited producing a flash of green light startling his younger self who was confused to see another him at the scene.

 

The younger Leonard ran off from the scene upon hearing Headmistress McGonagall’s voice coming his way with the elder Leonard following after him. The two Leonards then met up at around the corner where the younger one returned to human form.

 

“Give that back!” the younger insisted taking his wand back from his elder self.

“Sorry but I had to stop you from ruining everything,” the elder explained in a hushed tone.

“Ruining everything? What are you talking about?”

“Listen to me. You cannot register as an Animagus. I’m from the future I used this Time-Turner that Mr. Thawne let me borrow. If you go on the registry then father will be furious. He’ll use the Cruciatus Curse on us for hours on end every day during the holidays. You can’t register. You can’t!”

“Father’s really mad about that?”

 

The elder Leonard nodded.

 

“Then why didn’t you just stop me from doing all this? You know the punishment for getting caught as an unregistered Animagus is a sentence in Azkaban. Why would you risk it?” the younger shouted at his elder self.

“Mr. Thawne suggested it. I don’t know why but there must be a reason and it’s probably one worth investigating. Besides he said that there have been plenty of unregistered wizards who have avoided Azkaban. Just please, don’t register, don’t tell anyone either. Not Mick, not Sara, not even Lisa. Got it?”

“Yeah I got it. Thanks.”

 

The elder Leonard then returned to his time to find his memories of his torturous break fading from his mind as the timeline corrected itself. He then headed over to Professor Darhk’s classroom and found Mr. Thawne exiting the premises.

 

“Mr. Thawne, here. You can have this back. And thank you, for everything,” Leonard said as he handed the Time-Turner back to him.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean Mr. Snart,” Thawne smirked as he pocketed the Time-Turner and walked away.

“I’m sure,” Leonard replied with a smirk of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's everyone enjoying the story so far? Did you enjoy the last chapter where Len became an Animagus? What are your thoughts or opinions on this chapter? Please let me know in the comments down below.


	14. Only Eleven and Destined for Greatness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah I know I just posted another chapter earlier today but I couldn't help myself. Besides I've been anxious for new comments on this fic and haven't gotten any the past two chapters and I thought for sure someone was going to say something when I posted the chapter for Len's Animagus transformation! So please leave comments! It could be about anything. Tell me what you like about the fic, what you don't like, post questions regarding things you don't understand or want to know about what comes next, tell me your thoughts on Lewis and his use of the Cruciatus Curse on Len. Come on! Give me anything!

After changing the past to prevent registration and to avoid his father’s wrath Leonard spent the first Monday back at Hogwarts going about his regular business. As for right now he was in his afternoon Charms class with Sara and was starting to wonder about why someone would invent certain spells such as the one they were learning today.

 

“Alright everyone, now move your wands like so and say Spongify!” Rip instructed as he demonstrated the proper wand movement while aiming his wand at a paperweight.

“Spongify!” the class repeated with the very same wand motions making their own paperweights soft and bouncy.

 

Seriously, why would anyone want to make such a spell in the first place? Leonard thought perhaps most of these more useless spells were made by accident in trying to create more important ones and that maybe the Softening Charm was actually intended as some sort of transfiguration spell to create a new sponge or something.

 

Whatever the case may be he would still have to perform such ridiculous spells for a while as they were typically the easier ones. Professor Hunter made his way around to all the students’ desks testing the qualities of the items they enchanted to see if they had done it properly.

 

“Good work Mr. Allen. Ms. Jiwe, well done. Mr. Heywood, it would seem as though your technique needs a bit of work. Good job Ms. Lance. Mr. Snart excellent as always but might I have a word with you after class?” Rip said.

“Certainly sir,” Leonard replied unsure of what his professor wanted to talk to him about.

 

The class continued as it always did and once the day’s lessons were over Leonard walked up to Professor Hunter’s desk.

 

“You wanted to speak to me Professor?”

“Yes Mr. Snart. I was just wondering a couple things. Firstly, why didn’t you register as an Animagus? And secondly, how is it that when you first transformed you were seen at the same place and time as your Animagus form?”

“I don’t know what you mean Professor.”

“Mr. Snart, do you remember when I told you that I knew well about Mr. Thawne?”

“Yes sir,” Leonard replied unsure of where his professor was going with this.

“Well I know what Mr. Thawne is up to because he and I have something in common,” Rip explained as he opened a desk drawer and pulled out a Time-Turner.

 

Leonard’s eyes widened with surprise at his professor. He had known that Professor Hunter had been up to something but he never would’ve guessed that it would involve a Time-Turner. Mr. Thawne having one he might’ve guessed but Professor Hunter was not a dark wizard and didn’t seem the type to use prohibited magic ever. He was too strict and orderly to break any sort of rules, he thought.

 

“How?”

“I am not the simple professor you think I am, Mr. Snart, nor is Mr. Thawne a simple Auror. You see he and I are from the same future one in which you are or rather were a registered Animagus. So, care to tell me what exactly Mr. Thawne said or did to change that or are you really going to try and convince me that this anomaly isn’t the result of time travel based meddling?”

“He lent me his Time-Turner so that I could go back and convince my younger self not to register. I had before but my father was outraged when he learned of what I did. I considered just going back and not performing the ritual at all but Mr. Thawne convinced me not to. He said it would be a great tragedy to erase that skill from my past.”

“I see,” Rip nodded in response.

“Nevertheless I do believe I warned you not to trust Mr. Thawne or his associates and yet here you are taking not only advice from him but also highly prohibited magical trinkets as well.”

“I didn’t take it, he lent it to me!”

“Even still, I insist that you not take anything he, Merlyn, or Darhk have to say under advisement from now on. They are tricky and untrustworthy and will only see fit to manipulate you in any way they can.”

“Why? Why would they possibly want to manipulate a first-year student? Why me of all people? What could helping me possibly do to aid them?”

“If you must know in the future that Thawne and I are from you are considered to be one of the most powerful, most ingenious, and most skilled wizards of all time. Thawne has most likely come to the conclusion that assisting you will allow him to lure you to his side which given your talents in all things magical would surely benefit him greatly. You are a far more important wizard than you know Mr. Snart and I would hate to see you turned to darkness because of men like Mr. Thawne or your professors.”

“I- I’m important?” Leonard asked in disbelief.

“Very much so Mr. Snart. Now, you best run along to your next class. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to keep Professor Stein waiting,” Rip replied as his next class started to arrive.

 

Leonard moved to leave but then turned back to ask his professor a question.

 

“I know Mr. Thawne had dark intentions for coming back here whatever they may be but… why did you come here? What do _you_ hope to gain from time travel Professor?”

“That is a story for another time, Mr. Snart. Now hurry on or you’ll be late,” Rip replied while shooing him away.

 

Leonard then left for his Transfiguration class where he arrived just barely on time before taking a seat next to Sara.

 

“So, what did Professor Hunter want?” she asked him quietly.

“Nothing important.”

“Uh-huh. You sure it doesn’t have anything to do with that habit of yours of spying on the teachers?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t lie Len, you’re not good at it. Or at least you can’t fool me. So, are you going to tell me why you’ve been spying on the professors or am I going to have to guess?”

“Alright, if you must know I have this sort of sixth sense when it comes to dark wizards and from what I can tell Professors Darhk and Merlyn and their friend Mr. Thawne are all dark wizards. Professor Hunter knows this too. He just wanted to make sure I wasn’t listening to anything they had to say.”

“Such as?”

“That doesn’t really matter. The point is, our teachers and their Auror friend are up to something, something bad and only Professor Hunter and myself seem to be on to it. I’m sure Hunter would prefer it if I left him to deal with them himself but I just can’t help myself. I need to know what they’re up to.”

“And what happens once you’ve figured it out? What are you going to do then?”

“I don’t know. Maybe report them to the Ministry or something.”

“Report them to the Ministry? You can’t be serious. In case you haven’t been paying attention in History class almost all the powerful dark wizards in the world were defeated by non-Ministry wizards and witches. You can’t simply leave this to a bunch of stuffy government officials, you have to do something.”

“Like what? I’m only eleven. I’m not some all-powerful wizard with some great destiny ahead of me. I’m just a kid,” he argued in spite of what Rip told him to the contrary.

 

Leonard returned to his textbook as Sara did the same unsure of what else to say to him before a mischievous smirk crossed her lips.

 

“Harry Potter was only eleven when he defeated the Death-Eater Professor Quirrel. He was twelve when he killed a basilisk and destroyed a horcrux. He was thirteen when he cast his first Patronus charm. Fourteen when he-” she said.

“Enough! You’ve made your point,” Leonard sighed realizing that Sara indeed made a good point.

 

Even still… he was only eleven years old. If he couldn’t even stand up to his father what hope did he have against his professors? What hope did he have against an Auror who knew his future better than he did? Needless to say Leonard Snart felt way in over his head. Perhaps he could use some help from his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone asks how Sara knows so much about Harry Potter's acts despite being muggle-born, let's just say that Harry Potter is by this point one of the first great wizards that first-years learn about in History of Magic. Or at least that's my headcanon anyway.


	15. Animagus Hijinks

“So let me get this straight. Professors Darhk and Merlyn are dark wizards and their Auror friend Thawne is also a dark wizard but one who came from the future for reasons unknown and all three of them are working together for some reason which you don’t know but assume is bad and Professor Hunter is on to them too and comes from the same future as Thawne and probably has a reason for coming back too but you don’t know what that reason is either. Does that about cover it?” Mick asked as he, Leonard, and Sara talked out in the courtyard.

“Pretty much,” Leonard replied.

“Uh-huh and what exactly are you telling us for? And why are you even worrying about it? Just leave it to Professor Hunter,” Mick asked.

“I’m telling you two because I don’t think we can leave this to Professor Hunter. The professors and Thawne are up to something and we have to do something. Sara agrees with me, it was even her idea,” Leonard answered.

“Are you nuts? They’re teachers. They know more about magic than we do. We couldn’t stand a chance against them,” Mick said as he turned to Sara.

“Maybe not alone but together we might be able to do it. I mean if Harry Potter could take on Death-Eaters and Voldemort during his early years at Hogwarts then why can’t we?” she replied.

“Because he was a prophesized chosen one and we’re just a bunch of random kids with no supreme destiny,” Mick retorted.

“Besides that. Come on we have to do something. We can’t just let them get away with whatever it is they’re up to,” Sara insisted.

“What who’s up to?” Cisco asked as he came up from behind them.

 

Leonard glared at his fellow Ravenclaw.

 

“That’s none of your business Ramon. Now what do you want?” he said to him.

“Ease up Cold I was just wondering if any of you have seen Barry anywhere. I haven’t seen him since class earlier and usually he and some of our other friends head over to the library to study,” Cisco replied.

“Sorry, can’t say that we have,” Sara replied.

“You might try the Viaduct Courtyard though. I hear he likes to run around up there,” Mick suggested.

“Already looked there, coal for brains. You might try thinking before you make suggestions that I obviously would’ve thought of already,” Cisco replied to Leonard’s annoyance.

 

He hated it when his friends were dissed like that. Especially by Ramon.

 

“You know what you guys aren’t really helpful so I’ll just see you all later,” Cisco said as he headed off.

“I really hate that guy,” Mick grunted.

“Me too,” Leonard said as he stepped toward the same direction as Cisco before being pulled back by Mick.

“Hey, I thought I told you not to go picking fights with that kid because of me,” Mick insisted.

“I’m not. I was just going to get a drink of water. I’m thirsty and in case you’ve forgotten the nearest source of water is in that direction,” Leonard said as he pointed in the direction he was referring to.

“Fine, but you better not get into trouble because of Cisco’s mouth okay.”

“I promise,” Leonard said as he headed off after Cisco.

 

He turned a corner out of sight of his friends before looking around to see if anyone else might be watching before slipping into his Animagus form and howled gaining Cisco’s attention.

 

“What the-” Cisco said before Leonard started growling and barking at him startling the young wizard.

“Uh… nice doggie. Nice-” Cisco said in a mildly frightened tone before Leonard started to charge at him.

 

Cisco ran off screaming before finding his path blocked as Leonard ran past to cut him off. Cisco turned and ran back towards the courtyard still screaming as Sara and Mick turned their heads to see what was going on. Leonard continued to chase Cisco until he ran up into a tree for safety.

 

“Down boy! Heel! Heel!” Cisco shouted as Mick started laughing hysterically.

“Not funny Heatwave! Not funny at all!” Cisco said before another bark from Leonard made him scream and fall out of the tree.

 

Cisco quickly got to his feet and ran off screaming the whole way as Leonard chased after him for a brief moment before stopping in his tracks and throwing his head back in a howl.

 

“I like that dog,” Mick smiled to Sara.

 

Leonard then turned back to his friends and walked up to them taking a seat at their feet and holding a paw up with a dog smile.

 

“I think he likes us,” Sara said as she kneeled down to take Leonard’s paw in a handshake before rubbing her hand through his fur.

“He’s soft. Come on, feel,” she giggled before turning to Mick who kneeled down to pet him as well.

“Yeah he is. Where do you think he came from? I mean this ain’t the first time I’ve seen him around the schoolgrounds. Think he’s somebody’s pet?” Mick asked causing a small growl from Leonard in his attempt to refute the pet theory.

“I think that answers your question,” Sara deadpanned.

“We should probably come up with a name for him though if he keeps hanging around the school,” she continued.

“How about Oreo? You know like the black and white cookie,” Mick asked earning another growl.

“I don’t think he likes that.”

“Well then how about Fido. Fido’s a pretty common dog name,” Mick suggested and before Leonard could growl in response Sara spoke up.

“Yeah but I kinda get the feeling that this guy’s not a common dog. Maybe we should ask Leonard what he wants to call him,” Sara said causing Leonard to run off so that he could transform back in order to put his two cents in on the name of his Animagus form.

 

He rounded the corner letting out a noise before quickly changing back into his human form and turning back around to rejoin his friends.

 

“Hey, did you guys see that dog that ran past me a second ago?” Leonard asked them.

“Yeah, you missed it. He chased Ramon up into a tree,” Mick said with a laugh.

“Really? Man I wish I’d seen that,” Leonard replied.

“Yeah. So hey, we were thinking about maybe giving the dog a name since it seems like he’s going to be hanging around for a while. Got any ideas?” Sara asked him.

“Well how about Rogue?” Leonard answered.

“Rogue?” Mick questioned.

“Sure. I mean rogue essentially means the same thing as stray and it kind of sounds like a tough guy name. So, why not?” Leonard shrugged.

“Rogue. I like it,” Mick smiled.

“Yeah, let’s just hope Rogue likes it too,” Sara added.

“Oh I have a feeling he will,” Leonard smirked.

“Well let’s go see then. Come on, maybe we can catch up to him,” Mick said as he headed off after the dog who he still didn’t know was actually Leonard.

“Right behind you,” Sara called after him.

“I’ll uh catch up with you later. I have homework to do,” Leonard called after them as he snuck off to turn back into his Animagus form.

 

He ran up to greet his friends as a dog and they quickly bent down to pet him again. If he were human this kind of contact would be demeaning but he found he actually rather liked being pet as a dog. It was a kind of affection he wasn’t used to but one to which he could easily become accustomed.

 

“Hey, so what do you think of the name Rogue?” Sara asked him, earning a happy howl in response.

“He likes it,” Mick smiled with a chuckle.

“Seems like it,” Sara smiled as they continued to pet Leonard.

“Yeah sure does,” Mick said before glancing down at his watch.

“Oh crap, I’m late for detention! Gotta go,” Mick said as he rushed off.

“See ya Mick!” Sara called back at him.

“So. Rogue huh? Yeah, I can see why you’d like that name,” Sara said to Rogue the dog as she continued running a hand through his fur.

“Don’t worry Len, your secret’s safe with me,” she whispered with a wink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think of Leonard's Animagus name? I kind of only did it because I liked the fact that the Marauders all had little nicknames for their transformations and thought Leonard could use one as well. Also what do you think of how Len is using his new power? Think he's going too far or not being creative enough? Let me know what you think down below!


	16. Vandal Savage

“So, are you really going to keep denying that you are in fact an Animagus?” Sara asked Leonard as they walked down a corridor.

“I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he insisted.

“Of course you do. You were studying the Animagus ritual like it was one of our finals. You were keeping Mandrake leaves in your mouth for two months and don’t think I didn’t notice. Then once a full moon came on a clear night you started waking up before sunrise and _don’t_ try to deny it you and I both know that Cisco was complaining for the whole two weeks you were doing so. And finally the first time an electrical storm occurred since then you ran out of class and suddenly Rogue appears while being spotted with your wand in his mouth. I read the same book as you and so I know those were the steps behind the ritual. You’re Rogue, just admit it!”

 

Leonard then pulled Sara around a corner scanning the area for anyone who might eavesdrop.

 

“Alright. Fine. I admit it. I’m an Animagus. So what?” he admitted to her in a hushed voice.

“So what?! Are you mad? You were so eager to perform the ritual and wanted to do it to earn your father’s approval and then you turn around and keep it a secret? Why? Why don’t you want anyone to know?” she questioned.

“Because when I told the first time my father was outraged and punished me endlessly for what I’d done. Mr. Thawne lent me his Time-Turner so I could go back and prevent that from happening by stopping myself from revealing my Animagus status.”

“Mr. Thawne? Does he still know that you’re-”

“I would assume so. Professor Hunter certainly does. Listen Sara, you can’t tell anyone about this. This has to stay a secret, even from Mick. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I think so. By the way you’re very cute as a dog,” Sara smirked.

“Shut up,” Leonard replied in an exasperated tone.

“Oh come on, I just-” Sara started to say before noticing a man standing afar and talking to Headmistress McGonagall and another woman.

“Who are they?” she asked Leonard as he turned his head to see who she was referring to.

“Well the woman is the former Minister for Magic Hermione Granger. The man… the- the man,” Leonard tried to say before he started stuttering out of shock and fear.

 

He had never seen a wizard with such an aura of darkness as the man currently talking to their Headmistress and a former Minister. The sight sent a chill up his spine like his father never had before. He didn’t know who this man was or what he was doing on the schoolgrounds but he was determined to find out. He quickly turned into his Animagus form Rogue and ran up to the three across the way.

 

“Len? Leonard get back here at once!” Sara whisper-shouted at him being careful not to be heard by the others.

“And so I was rather hoping Headmistress that you would be willing to attend- Why is there a dog here?” the man asked as he noticed Rogue.

“Oh, never mind him. He’s just a stray that’s been wandering about the grounds as of late,” McGonagall explained while Hermione bent down to pet Rogue.

“Well hello there,” she said cocking her head as she stared into Rogue’s eyes.

“You remind me of a dog I once knew called Padfoot,” she smiled at him.

“Only he wasn’t really a dog either,” she whispered into Rogue’s ear ever so quietly that McGonagall and their associate wouldn’t hear her.

“Mrs. Granger now is not the time to be petting wild animals that could very well have fleas. We have business to discuss,” the man insisted.

“Certainly Mr. Savage,” Hermione said getting to her feet.

 

Savage. Vandal Savage, the new Minister for Magic. The very same man he had heard Professors Darhk and Merlyn discussing just months prior regarding his election. No wonder they were fearful of his becoming Minister. Leonard was certain he had much to fear from the man as well.

 

“Now, as I was saying before the dog interrupted, there is a gala this Saturday evening to celebrate the newest decree in magical education which is sure to improve teaching standards tenfold and Mrs. Granger and myself would be ever so thrilled if you would attend,” Savage said to McGonagall.

“I shall… think about it Mr. Savage. Uh Ms. er I’m sorry Mrs. Granger. I will never get used to that. Would you please follow me for a moment? There is something I would like to discuss with you in private,” McGonagall replied before gesturing down the hall.

“Certainly Profe- I mean Headmistress. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that either. Excuse us Mr. Savage,” Hermione replied.

“By all means catch up. I will just wander about the halls a bit, see what all’s been changed since that battle some years ago destroyed parts of the castle since my time as a student. I’ll catch up with you later,” Savage said waving the two women goodbye.

 

Leonard paused for a moment considering whether to follow Savage and find out what he might be up to or to follow the women and listen in on whatever McGonagall wanted to talk to the former Minister about. Given how frightened he was of Vandal it was an easy decision to make. He followed behind McGonagall and Hermione waiting behind a corner when they stopped on the other side of it to talk.

 

“Is there a particular reason you invited me here Headmistress?” Hermione asked her former professor.

“Is there a reason you brought _him_ with you?” McGonagall replied with a tone of disdain as she referred to Savage.

“He insisted on coming along so that he could invite you to the gala himself in person. I had no say in the matter. You will be attending, won’t you?”

“I should think not. I don’t know about you but there is something about that man that unnerves me greatly. He reminds me too much of the many dark wizards you and I have faced in the past. I don’t trust him as a Minister or even as a custodian. And besides the last time the Ministry initiated an educational decree, things were not improved as you well remember.”

“I do but will you keep the invitation anyways in case you change your mind? Ron and Harry were rather looking forward to seeing you again.”

“I’ll keep the invitation but I make no promises. Now as for why I called you here, I wanted to ask if you would still be working in the Ministry despite your departure from the Minister position?”

“I will. Actually I will be returning to head the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Why do you ask?”

“I need to ask a favor of you. Vandal Savage is not a man whom I would say I trust and given his current position in the Ministry it feels ill-advised to let him go about his business without some form of supervision. So I was hoping-”

“You want me to spy on him?”

“Not spy per se but I do want you to keep a close eye on him and make sure that he does not abuse his power as certain other Ministers have. It would be quite a shame to have such amount of reform from Ministers such as yourself and Mr. Shacklebolt only to have it all be undone by the likes of Mr. Savage.”

“Of course Headmistress. I will keep my eye out,” she said turning to leave before remembering something and turning back to McGonagall.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Rose asked me to tell you that she misses the advice you used to give her during her days in school.”

“And I miss having a student with such a gift for learning as you and her both share Mrs. Granger. Good day,” McGonagall replied turning away to leave.

 

Hermione then rounded the corner just as Leonard took off to rejoin Sara down the way.

 

“Well?” Sara asked him.

“The man was Vandal Savage, the new Minister. I have never and I mean _never_ been so scared of a man in my life! If he’s not one of the darkest wizards alive then I don’t know who is,” Leonard replied.

“Geeze and he’s in charge of the Ministry now?”

“Yeah and he’s got some new educational decree coming out and is hosting a gala to celebrate it. He invited Headmistress McGonagall but she doesn’t seem to want to go. She doesn’t trust him either apparently.”

“Good. At least there’s one adult using their brain.”

“Yeah. But it doesn’t seem like anyone else is. We need to do something.”

“Okay I know I said we should put a stop to our teachers, but the Minister for Magic himself? Are you mad? He could send us to Azkaban if he wanted to!”

“So? If anyone finds out about my abilities as an Animagus I’d go to Azkaban anyways. It’s one thing to stand by and let people like Mr. Thawne or his friends get away with evil but someone like Savage has to be stopped immediately.”

“Leonard,” Sara said as she placed her hands on either side of his face.

“You’re insane. And I am not going to help you get yourself arrested or killed by going after Savage,” she finished before walking away.

 

 _Fine_ , he thought, _if you won’t help me then I’ll deal with this myself. And I know exactly how to do it_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone still enjoying the story? Any guesses as to what Leonard's planning to do about Savage? Please leave any questions or comments down below.


	17. Polyjuice and Pretty Awkward Situations

“Alright, I get that you’re suspicious of this Savage guy but remind me again why you’ve been brewing this potion for over a day now? And how the hell’d you find this room?” Mick asked as he and Leonard sat in the Room of Requirement while Leonard added the last scoop of lacewing flies to the Polyjuice Potion he was brewing.

“I’ve been brewing this potion for so long because that’s how long it takes to make it. And I found this room by pacing through every single corridor in the castle while thinking of something I needed. Once I was done with that particular necessity I decided to have the room change into a potions lab for myself complete with stores and herb gardens for various ingredients. I figured I might need Polyjuice Potion at some point for spying on the teachers so I already stewed a ton of lacewing flies for 21 days as needed and kept them perfectly preserved in that enchanted cupboard over there,” Leonard explained as he finished brewing the potion.

“A preservation cupboard? That’s actually a thing?”

“No. I checked the books for a spell that could preserve multiple ingredients for indefinitely but no such luck so I invented a spell of my own to do it.”

 

Mick’s head shot up at that.

 

“You… invented a spell?” he asked in shock.

“Yeah. Took a few tries. First time I tried creating a spell to freeze something in time but just wound up stopping time around me completely, not what I wanted to do by the way. Second time I accidentally made a spell to speed up decay instead. From there I just reverse engineered what I did the second time to create its opposite and used it to enchant the cupboard to preserve my ingredients. If you want I can teach you the spells,” Leonard shrugged.

“So let me get this straight, you invented not one, not two, but three spells and you’re just shrugging them off like it’s no big deal?”

“It’s not that I don’t think it’s a big deal I just don’t want anyone to know about it. My father would just think I was showing him up or something and punish me for it. Anyway now all I need to do to the potion is add a bit of hair from Headmistress McGonagall,” Leonard said as he took a vial full of hair and added it to the potion before waving his wand to complete the Polyjuice making it turn a bright blue color.

“Okay, but remind me again why you’re wearing McGonagall’s clothes?”

“Because the potion doesn’t affect what one wears and given how much smaller I am than the Headmistress I think it’d be far better for both of us if I’m wearing this prior to the transformation so that my normal clothes don’t shred to pieces as I grow into the Headmistress’s form,” Leonard replied as he bottled the potion into a flask while Mick shuddered at the image Len put into his brain.

“Well, down the hatch I suppose,” Leonard said before taking a swig of the potion noting its taste of plums.

 

He then started to take McGonagall’s form growing into the woman’s clothing as he did.

 

“Well, how do I look?” Leonard asked in McGonagall’s voice.

“Like an old lady. Here, managed to sneak this away from under the Headmistress’s nose,” Mick replied as he handed Leonard, McGonagall’s invitation to the gala.

“Perfect. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a gala to attend,” Leonard said as he strolled out of the Room of Requirement via a secret tunnel it created to the Hog’s Head Inn.

 

From there Leonard snuck away to the gala via Floo Powder and arrived promptly at the gala’s location at 8 o’clock sharp. There he handed McGonagall’s invitation to the security and headed in where he was soon greeted by Ron Weasley.

 

“Professor. Er I mean Headmistress McGonagall. Sorry, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that. It’s good to see you,” Ron said to Leonard as he was disguised by the potion.

“It is good to see you too Mr. Weasley. How is your family doing?” Leonard asked awkwardly.

“They’re doing well. How’s this year’s batch of students? They giving you as much trouble as we used to?”

“Not at all. Um, if you don’t mind my asking have you seen Mr. Savage anywhere?”

“Uh yeah I think he’s over there somewhere,” Ron said pointing to the far end of the ballroom.

“Thank you, Mr. Weasley,” Leonard said as he headed over in the direction Ron directed him to.

 

As he was walking over to Savage he was interrupted by a familiar face. One whom Leonard really didn’t want to see at the moment.

 

“Headmistress McGonagall. It’s good to see you’re doing well,” Lewis said to Leonard in greeting.

“And you are?” Leonard asked only because he didn’t think McGonagall would’ve known who his father was.

“Why I’m Lewis Snart. I was one of your best students back in the day. I’m rather surprised you don’t recognize me. Granted it has been a few years but still.”

“Ah right Mr. Snart. Forgive me but you have grown up quite a bit since your days as a student at Hogwarts.”

“I suppose that’s true. So tell me, how’s my boy doing at school? You know he got sorted into Ravenclaw?”

“Why yes I did and your son is doing exceptionally well in all his classes. I’m sure you must be proud.”

“I’d be prouder if he’d been sorted into Slytherin House like a good Snart always does.”

“Mhm,” Leonard nodded with a bit of frustration at his father’s continued hatred of his sorting.

“Care to dance Minerva?”

“I uh well,” Leonard said looking over his shoulder to see that Savage was no longer in the same place.

“Uh sure. Why not?” he finished taking his father’s hand as he led him to the dancefloor.

 

This was sure to be incredibly awkward. If it weren’t for the fact that he was trying to blend in and pose as McGonagall he would’ve said no but to avoid any potential suspicions he just had to suck it up and be as polite and courteous as the real Headmistress. He had never been more grateful that Mick wasn’t around than he was at that very moment. Mick would surely be dying of laughter at the sight of Lewis’s hand on Leonard’s waist as they began dancing.

 

It was just lucky for Leonard that he knew how to dance like a woman from teaching Lisa a couple years ago, otherwise he’d have surely been caught in his ruse. After all everyone knew the Headmistress could dance.

 

“You’re very light on your feet Headmistress,” Lewis commented as they danced.

“Why thank you Mr. Snart you’re quite the gifted dancer yourself,” Leonard said to his own disgust at his current situation while scanning the room for Savage.

 

Luckily it wasn’t long before he spotted him.

 

“Thank you for the dance Mr. Snart. It was quite lovely but I’m afraid I have some business to discuss with Minister Savage at the moment. Good evening sir,” Leonard said as he excused himself from the very awkward dance.

 

Leonard quickly made his way over to Savage hoping that he would learn something more about the man and what exactly this new educational decree was. He didn’t know what Savage might be up to but if this decree left the Headmistress with concerns it was certainly worth checking into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anything in the chapter amuse you? Was there anything funny about it or did it leave you with second-hand embarrassment for Leonard? Please let me know what you thought down below in the comments!


	18. Caught in the Act

Leonard walked up to Savage trying to contain his fear of the man as he posed as the Headmistress of Hogwarts so that he could learn of Savage’s intentions, especially those regarding Hogwarts and this educational decree that the real McGonagall feared.

 

“Ah, Headmistress McGonagall, I wasn’t sure if you were coming. Pleased to see you,” Savage said to Leonard unaware of the disguise.

“Likewise Mr. Savage. I was hoping you could further elaborate on the purpose of this new educational decree you’ve set out. I’m still a little confused by it,” Leonard replied.

“How so?”

“Uh well you see I don’t quite understand the necessity of it. Are you sure that Hogwarts is really in need of such a decree?”

“Why yes of course. I mean between the likes of Quirinius Quirrell and Dolores Umbridge I should think that a decree that would enforce a strict screening process preventing dark wizards such as them from becoming teachers of magic to those bright young minds that shape our future would be most important. After all putting people like them in the position to shape the future of magic is quite dangerous. Even foolish wizards that know nothing of their art such as Gilderoy Lockhart or ones who divulge the secrets of dark magic like Professor Slughorn did put our future in jeopardy and would be prevented from teaching as a result of the decree. I know you haven’t had a teacher quite as horrible since the days of the Second Wizarding War but surely you understand the need for such a decree.”

“I understand that preventing the poisoning of young minds is necessary but I fail to see why that should mean the Ministry would have the authority to decide who is fit to teach and who isn’t. After all with the amount of corruption in the Ministry in the past how can you be sure that the standards the decree has set out aren’t as faulty as the previous methods with which such professors as the ones you mentioned were hired by?”

“Because I wrote them myself and if my judgment cannot be trusted while I hold the title of Minister then whose can be?”

“That is a good question but the simple fact that you are Minister does not automatically make your judgment sound. It only means that if it wasn’t we would all surely be doomed as well as those students whose entire education would be affected by the decree Mr. Savage,” Leonard replied in McGonagall’s voice as his eyes changed from McGonagall’s green to his own blue color.

 

Vandal Savage smirked as he took note of this.

 

“And of course your judgment could also be considered in question given that you are not Headmistress McGonagall and thus not entitled to an opinion regarding the decree.”

“I don’t know what you mean sir,” Leonard denied.

“No? I find that hard to believe given that whatever Polyjuice Potion you drank seems to be wearing off,” Savage said as his expression grew dangerous.

 

Leonard then quickly ran off out of the building as Savage brandished his wand.

 

“Immobulus!” Savage shouted as he tried to stop Leonard missing him entirely.

 

Savage and several Ministry officials including Leonard’s own father gave chase as Leonard ran outside while still changing back into himself.

 

“Stupefy!” Lewis Snart shouted as he aimed at Leonard missing as Leonard turned a corner out of sight taking the opportunity to change into his Animagus form.

 

Savage and the others quickly caught up with Leonard who strolled lazily out of the alley in his canine form unnoticed aside from his father’s comment of…

 

“Out of the way stupid dog!”

 

The group that had been chasing him soon came up to a dead end in the alley finding nothing of their intruder aside from their clothes.

 

“How did they escape?” one witch asked.

“Did they Apparate?” a wizard questioned.

“Of course not if they did then the clothes would’ve gone with them,” Lewis argued.

“Enough!” Savage shouted at the others.

“Enough,” he repeated in a less harsh tone, “It is clear that whoever they were they are long gone now. We shall contact Headmistress McGonagall and alert her to the impersonation. In the meantime we have a party to get back to. Now everyone back inside,” Savage said as he ushered everyone back toward the gala.

 

Leonard then ran from the scene back to the nearest fireplace so that he could escape via Floo Powder to Hogsmeade and from there return to Hogwarts. Leonard was so worried that he would be discovered as being responsible for the ruse and be sent to Azkaban for it. Stupid Polyjuice Potion, why couldn’t it have lasted a bit longer? I mean sure, the fact that it lasted the two hours that it did was impressive given its complexity and his young age but still. Leonard met up with Mick over at Slytherin table the next morning to discuss what happened.

 

“You were caught?!” Mick asked just a bit too loudly drawing some attention from the nearby students.

“Shh! No, I _almost_ got caught. I managed to get out of there before they could see me turn back into myself. Though returning to the Ravenclaw dorms past curfew with no clothes definitely wasn’t helpful,” Leonard replied earning a bellowing laugh from Mick.

 

Leonard glared at his friend for the laughter.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, but why the hell didn’t you just grab some clothes from somewhere or just try and drag McGonagall’s clothes with you?” Mick asked as he caught his breath.

“I would’ve been caught red-handed if I’d kept the clothes with me and it wasn’t like there was a lost and found anywhere that I could steal some trousers from,” Leonard replied as Sara came over and sat next to him.

“So, mind telling me why I overheard Cisco telling Barry about you returning to the dorms last night naked?” she asked a very embarrassed Leonard.

“I am never going to live this down,” he groaned as he buried his face into the dining table.

“Hey Snart, ain’t that Savage over there?” Mick asked pointing off in the distance.

 

Leonard looked up to notice Savage walking over to Headmistress McGonagall along with a pair of other Ministry members including Lewis Snart.

 

“Oh bloody hell,” Leonard muttered.

“Why is Vandal Savage here? Leonard?” Sara asked in a tone that was calm despite obviously seething with anger.

“I may have kind of sort of used a Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the gala last night and pose as Headmistress McGonagall,” Leonard answered quietly.

“You did what?!” Sara whisper shouted at him.

“Hey don’t look now but your old man’s coming over here,” Mick said to Leonard.

 

Leonard turned to face his father.

 

“Father,” Leonard nodded.

“Leonard,” Lewis nodded in return.

“Mind telling me what this mudblood Gryffindor girl is doing here? And why are you talking to her?” he asked his son irately.

“I wasn’t talking to her, she just comes up to us sometimes and won’t leave us alone. She’s quite annoying like that,” Leonard replied.

“I see. Run along little girl. This table is for esteemed wizards and witches of which you are not. Now remove yourself from the premises at once,” Lewis answered before turning to Sara.

“Your son’s not a Slytherin either and I don’t see you shooing him away,” Sara replied.

“My son was sorted into the wrong house by mistake. He is of noble and honorable blood and deserves a place at Slytherin despite what some foolish hat might think. Now don’t make me ask again. Leave. Now!”

“Alright. But for the record you did just ask again,” she replied smugly as she got up to return to Gryffindor table.

“Arrogant little brat,” Lewis muttered.

“If you don’t mind my asking father, but why is it that you’re here?” Leonard questioned.

“There was an intruder at a gala last night in honor of a new educational decree. The intruder used a Polyjuice Potion to impersonate the Headmistress. Minister Savage asked myself and another colleague to assist in determining who might be at fault and why they invaded a private gala. Savage believes the culprit may have come from this school be it teacher or student. If you ask me I’d place good money on one of those lowly Gryffindors to have done it,” Lewis answered.

“I suppose it’s possible. Though given how difficult Polyjuice is to brew I doubt it would have been any student younger than a sixth year.”

“Good point my boy. Good point. I’ll be sure to discuss the matter with Minister Savage immediately. In the meantime I expect you to keep yourself out of trouble so as to avoid any suspicion and to stay away from that wretched mudblood. Do you understand son?” Lewis asked.

“Yes father,” Leonard nodded in reply as his father walked away to rejoin his associates and Vandal Savage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is everyone still liking this piece? What do you like about it? What don't you like? What do you want to see more of? What do you want to see less of? Let me know what you think down below!


	19. Interrogations

The rest of the week Leonard spent his time trying to stay under the radar as the Ministry employed several Aurors including his own father and Eobard Thawne to uncover the one responsible for the impersonation of Headmistress McGonagall. He couldn’t speak to Sara without risking his father seeing. He couldn’t hang out with Mick without risking getting into trouble and putting a spotlight on himself. He couldn’t even transform into Rogue without risking a sentence at Azkaban Prison. Leonard had thought his life had become a living hell and he only had himself to blame for it.

 

“Leonard. We need to speak to you a moment,” Lewis said to him one morning when he had been trying to go to his class.

“Certainly father… I- I’m sorry did you say we?” Leonard replied.

“Yes. Myself and a pair of Aurors need to interview you. Standard procedure, nothing to worry about. Just a lead that my coworkers feel the need to follow up on,” Lewis said as he pulled his son away by the arm.

“What kind of lead?”

“I’ll tell you once we reach the Headmistress’s office.”

 

Once reaching McGonagall’s office Leonard took a seat in a chair before his father, Mr. Thawne, and another Auror by the name of Zaman Druce as well as McGonagall herself.

 

“Now Leonard we here that on the night in question you returned to the Ravenclaw dormitories past curfew and buck naked. Do you deny these claims?” Druce questioned.

“No sir,” Leonard replied glancing at his father who seemed rather upset by this.

“And why, pray tell, did you return past curfew without your clothes?” Druce asked.

“Well, you see sir, some of my fellow students and I haven’t been getting along lately and it’s caused a bit of trouble. Headmistress McGonagall asked that we find a way to cooperate. On the night you speak of the other students and I decided to play a game of truth or dare. A bonding exercise you see. I made the mistake of choosing dare so as to avoid any overly personal questions and well they dared me to go skinny dipping in the Great Lake. I thought it was all in good fun but when I got out of the water they had all gone and taken my clothes with them. I waited until curfew to return to the castle because well… would you want anyone to see you rushing through the halls naked? It was the only way to avoid any further humiliation. Surely you can understand,” Leonard said as he had practiced the story the past few days in case he was to be questioned.

“You should have known better than to trust your enemies, son. That was very foolish of you,” Lewis sneered.

“I’m sorry father. I only did what I thought would please the Headmistress.”

“That may be but for future reference skinny dipping in the lake is strictly forbidden,” McGonagall interjected.

“Understood Headmistress. Am I free to go to class now?”

“Not… so fast. How do we know that the boy is telling us the truth? For all we know he could be lying to us this very moment,” Druce added.

“Nonsense. My boy knows his place. He knows better than to lie to me. Isn’t that right son?” Lewis asked Leonard.

“Yes father. Most certainly.”

“Just because he is your son Snart does not make him innocent,” Druce argued.

“No but the fact that Polyjuice Potion is far too advanced for a mere eleven year old to make and that from what I’ve heard of him from my friends, Professors Darhk and Merlyn, he is hardly the type of person who would take part in such shenanigans do. I mean he is after all a good student and if that is not reason enough to believe that he is innocent then what would convince you?” Thawne added.

“Oh I don’t know how about people who would corroborate that story?”

“Like who? The boys who made a fool of my boy in the first place? Whether Leonard is telling the truth or not those boys would hardly admit to any wrongdoing no matter the scenario. Meanwhile, my boy is undoubtedly telling us the absolute truth. I can look at him straight away and see that he is telling the truth. Why? Because he is a _lousy_ liar. Arguably his greatest weakness other than him being just plain weak,” Lewis argued.

“Mr. Snart! We do not put down students at this school. Now you will apologize to Leonard at once,” McGonagall said firmly to Leonard’s dismay as he knew that his father would be mad at him for the Headmistress’s disrespect towards Lewis.

“You are quite right Headmistress. As always. Forgive me son I didn’t mean anything by it,” Lewis said while gritting his teeth.

 

Leonard nodded his head vigorously unsure of how to respond in a way that wouldn’t upset his father. On the one hand if he accepted the apology his father could get mad at him for making it seem like he actually had a reason to apologize. On the other if he said that there wasn’t anything to apologize for after he’d already done so his father could get mad for making a fool of him. There really was no good way to answer the apology with words so he hoped that nodding his head would be sufficient.

 

“Can we please get back to the matter at hand? The matter of whether or not Leonard here impersonated the Headmistress?” Druce interrupted.

“Alright how about we settle this right now? Show of hands who here thinks that Leonard Snart is not the one responsible for the impersonation?” Thawne asked the room before raising his hand alongside Lewis and McGonagall herself.

“Really Minerva?” Druce questioned.

“If you really find it hard to believe that Leonard was the victim of a foolish childhood prank then clearly you have never been young,” McGonagall retorted.

“Very well then. On to the next suspect. As soon as we find one that is,” Druce sighed as he got up to leave the room.

“Good day Mr. Druce,” McGonagall said as the man left before turning to Lewis.

“Mr. Snart,” she sneered.

“Headmistress,” Lewis nodded goodbye as he too left the room.

“I do hope that we find whomever was responsible for this disgraceful ruse and I can assure you Headmistress McGonagall that we will not rest until we do,” Thawne said glancing briefly at Leonard with a knowing look on his face before turning to leave.

“Good day Headmistress,” Thawne said as he left.

“And good day to you too sir,” McGonagall said as she shut the door on the Aurors.

“Mr. Snart perhaps you can now explain yourself?” she said to Leonard as he rose to his feet in an attempt to leave for class.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean Headmistress.”

 

The woman gave a small giggle at that comment as if in disbelief.

 

“Please, you might have your father fooled into thinking you are a terrible liar but you cannot fool me Mr. Snart. I know it was you. Care to know how I know?” she asked receiving no response.

“Fine then if you won’t guess I’ll tell you. I was there that night when you snuck into my office to steal my hair for the potion you used. I assume you didn’t realize because you are perhaps unaware of my status as an Animagus.”

“Ugh, you were the cat,” Leonard groaned at the realization.

“Indeed. Now do you care to tell me why you risked so much trouble in order to impersonate me at the gala the other evening?”

“I don’t trust Minister Savage. I wanted to gather information on the educational decree because I knew it would affect the school and its students. It was simple curiosity, I swear.”

“I’m sure,” she said appearing rather unconvinced.

“Run along now. You’re late enough for your next class as it is,” she said ushering him out the door.

 

Leonard was both relieved at having gotten away with his actions at the gala and terrified that he’d be caught if he tried something like that again. After all, it was one thing for a dark wizard such as Thawne to be on to him. For the Headmistress to be catching on to his reconnaissance as well was surely far worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave comments.


	20. The Canary

After about another month of having his father, Thawne, and Druce lurking around the schoolgrounds for information about the gala incident the Auror’s office moved on believing that whoever the culprit may be that they did not originate from Hogwarts. This was quite a relief for Leonard as he had been growing ever so tired of not being able to hang out with his friends as much as he liked.

 

He was particularly sad to have had to shun Sara on schoolgrounds whenever his father or one of the other Aurors were around. He hated doing that to her but luckily, she understood. Though that perhaps made Leonard feel more guilty as though he didn’t deserve her forgiveness for it especially since none of this would have happened had he not impersonated Headmistress McGonagall in the first place.

 

He doesn’t feel that he deserves her friendship and yet she keeps giving it to him. Keeps being there for him, standing up for him against the likes of Cisco and anyone else who would give him a hard time, studying with him, talking with him about even the most trivial things. He doesn’t feel he deserves her friendship… but he’s certainly not going to pass it up for the world. And that was when he realized that it might be time for something to really cement the friendship.

 

“Sara, can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked while walking up to greet her in the hall on the way to Transfiguration class.

“Sure. What is it?”

“Okay, you see this wand, right?” he said as he pulled out his wand to show her.

“Yes, Leonard I can see your wand,” she said with an eyeroll.

“No I don’t mean- Anyway, do you see these marks on the handle?” he said turning the handle of the wand to face her showing her two distinct carvings made on it, one in the form of the letters L.S. and the other which resembled a flame.

“You… carved your initials and a flame into your wand? Why?”

“That’s just it. I didn’t make the carvings. When I first got my wand I showed it to my sister Lisa and she thought that it looked too plain and boring and so she asked if she could do something to it to make it more personal. And so she carved the letters, L.S. onto it to show that it belonged to me. Though I came to see it as her initials, her mark, a symbol of someone who means the world to me. And then I took my wand to Mick. Him being my best friend for as long as I can remember I figured maybe he’d be willing to leave his initials on the wand too. Only he thought initials weren’t personal enough and so he carved this little flame instead.”

“Because he’s a firebug.”

“Exactly. And so I was wondering if maybe you could…”

“You want me to leave a mark on your wand?” she asked as he handed her his wand.

“Would you?”

 

He hoped she would. After all, she had come to be one of his closest friends and trusted allies. She was the only one he had trusted with the secret of his Animagus form. Not counting Professor Hunter, Mr. Thawne, or anyone they might’ve told of course. If she didn’t want to mark his wand he’d be crushed. This was something quite personal to him and if she wouldn’t do this then perhaps their friendship didn’t mean as much to her as it did to him. The amount of silence that currently stood between them as she pondered the offer left him with a sense of dread.

 

“Well?” he asked hopefully.

“Give me a week to think about what I want to mark it with. This has to be personal, right? Can’t just be any silly old carving, it has to mean something,” she replied handing him back his wand.

“A week. Perfect, thank you,” he smiled at her as he accepted his wand and her willingness to do this for him.

“No need to thank me Snart. I’m always happy to help out a friend. Now come on we’re going to be late,” she said as she turned to leave for their class with Professor Stein.

 

Stein’s Transfiguration class was a confusing one given how unnecessarily complicated the professor had to make his lectures. Why he had to turn such simple tasks as turning needles into matches into the world’s most complicated puzzle Leonard would never know. Not that he didn’t manage to excel at the course just that he felt he needed a translator to know what his professor was actually talking about most of the time.

 

The only one who really seemed to understand what Professor Stein was talking about all the time was Jax who was rather gifted with Transfiguration. The boy would always brag about his success at learning a new spell in the subject much to Leonard’s annoyance. It’s one thing to be proud of your accomplishments, it’s another to be so smug about it all the time. Anyway back to today’s lesson.

 

“Now class today you are going to be learning the Avifors Spell. Now this spell will allow you to alter the physical composition of your targeted subject thus transfiguring them into an avian or multiple avian forms or occasionally the form or forms of the chiroptera family,” Stein explained prompting Barry to raise his hand.

“Yes, Mr. Allen?” Stein asked.

“Yeah uh what’s an avian or a cairo- chirop,” Barry tried to say.

“Chiroptera, it’s the scientific name for bats and avians are birds,” Amaya interrupted to no one’s surprise, if there was one student who knew what animals were called what it’d be her.

“Very good Ms. Jiwe. Now as I was saying, one simply needs to take their wand, move it in a sideways figure eight while saying Avifors!” Stein demonstrated as he turned his mug into a bird.

“And voila you have a bird as is typical of the spell though as Ms. Jiwe explained the spell does sometimes cause bats to form as well. And once completed the caster can use their wand to manipulate the transfigured animal like so,” Stein said as he moved his wand around to cause the bird he conjured to fly about the classroom before returning it to his desk and changing it back into his coffee mug.

“Now you try,” Stein said as he lifted his mug to his lips for a sip of coffee.

 

The class all began attempting to use the spell on some paperweights with limited success with the exception of Leonard who had managed to get the hang of the spell rather quickly, Jax who was a natural, and Sara who not only created one bird on her first try but an entire flock of canaries to her classmates’ delight.

 

“Wow!” were among the comments made at the sight as Sara orchestrated the birds like a conductor.

“Not bad Canary, not bad at all,” Cisco commented on Sara’s performance with the spell.

“Oh by the way. Canary? That’s your name now. And you know maybe it’ll convince you stop hanging around Cold here and his dumb friend Heatwave. After all Canary really just doesn’t fit the same pattern as those two. Maybe that’s just my opinion but,” he continued with a shrug at the end.

 

And with that comment Sara decided to have her canaries circle over Cisco’s head causing him to look up. That was a very bad idea as Sara then had the birds to poop on his face.

 

“Oh! Gross!” Cisco declared while trying to get away from the birds.

 

Most of the class burst out laughing especially Leonard who was glad to see Cisco get his comeuppance. Unfortunately it didn’t last too long as Professor Stein then turned the birds back into their original paperweight form.

 

“Ms. Lance! Detention! And fifteen points from Gryffindor!” Stein shouted at Sara who just smirked before turning to Leonard.

“I don’t think I’ll need a week after all. May I?” she asked him quietly.

“By all means,” he said with a knowing smirk as he handed her his wand.

 

While Professor Stein took Cisco away to get cleaned up Sara carved a little canary onto Leonard’s wand before handing it back to him.

 

“Well? What do you think?” she asked.

“It’s perfect,” he smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think of how Sara got her nickname? What are your thoughts on the carvings on Leonard's wand? Everyone still enjoying the fic? Let me know what you think or how you feel about it down below!


	21. The Legion of Doom

March had finally come around and the trees and flowers had started to bud. Meanwhile, with the new decree finally starting to take effect all of Hogwarts’s professors had to undergo strict scrutiny per Savage’s ordinance. Leonard had noticed how anxious this made all of the professors, not just Darhk and Merlyn, though they were particularly nervous about it. No doubt because with Thawne’s future knowledge they were well aware of what to expect. Leonard found them in the Clock Tower Courtyard where he used his Animagus form to hide behind a bush without raising any suspicions should he be caught.

 

“This is maddening. How long are these teacher reviews supposed to last anyway?” Darhk asked Merlyn.

“According to Thawne they last almost the rest of the school year for the purpose of ‘extensive determination of a professor’s intentions and qualifications toward’-”

“‘Toward the goal of ensuring the purity and education of young minds’. Yes, I know Savage’s words. Even still the lengths he’s taking with these reviews is insanity. The only purpose for them is to replace teachers he doesn’t like with those he has under his thumb so that he can groom young witches and wizards into his own personal army to enslave the wizarding world. The fact that anyone trusts this man to be Minister is in and of itself madness and perhaps the very reason the Ministry has had such corruption in the past,” Darhk interrupted with his rant.

“Well to be fair I don’t think trust has anything to do with it given that Savage used the Imperius Curse to make a good amount of the public vote him into office in the first place. And besides we should be less worried about Savage and his goals and more worried about our own goals. The spear should still be our priority. After all the power it possesses would be more than enough to get us what we want as well as to take care of our Savage problem,” Merlyn shrugged.

“Yes and while I would love to go searching for the spear right now the simple fact remains that we still have some time to wait before we can even begin looking. In case you’ve forgotten the second half of the medallion won’t reveal itself for another year and a half at least and without it we do not have the map to find it. So in the meantime we should remain focused on passing whatever inane tests Savage has set out so that we can keep our positions at the school.”

“Yes and with any luck we’ll see the removal of Rip Hunter. After all you know as well as I that he is onto us and our goals. If he remains at the school for much longer he could be our undoing.”

“And here I thought it was that one kid we had to watch out for.”

“Thawne said that Leonard takes down Savage, he didn’t say anything about taking us down too. Why do you think he wants us to be nice to him? Thawne believes that Mr. Snart could be a very capable ally to have and wants us to convince him to join us. Though if you ask me Thawne’s just giving the boy too much credit. He may have successfully performed the Animagus ritual but that does not make him a powerful wizard it just means that he’s very good at studying. The very idea that he could be anywhere near our level or surpass it within his years attending Hogwarts is preposterous at best.”

 

Leonard was annoyed at that particular comment. Sure he might not believe himself a very powerful wizard but for people like Merlyn or Darhk to doubt him just because of his age was infuriating. He may be young but he’d be damned if he let anyone underestimate him because of that.

 

“Hey look it’s Rogue!” Barry Allen pointed out as he saw Leonard’s dog form behind the bush to Leonard’s annoyance.

“Dude stay back! That dog’s dangerous!” Cisco insisted of his friend as Barry ran up to Rogue.

“Hey buddy. Aren’t you just so fluffy and cute,” Barry said as he pet Rogue earning a growl from Leonard who considered it demeaning to be called cute, or at least to be called that by a friend of Cisco Ramon’s.

“Okay, okay not cute. Nice doggie,” Barry said as he removed his hands from Rogue’s fur as Leonard continued to growl at him before chasing him off with a set of barks with Cisco joining Barry as they fled from him.

 

Darhk and Merlyn turned their heads to see the commotion.

 

“Well, well. Looks like Mr. Snart has been spying on us again. How much do you think he heard?” Darhk asked Merlyn.

“No idea. But good news at least, we didn’t specify what kind of spear or medallion when we were talking about our plans.”

“No but we did mention the two being connected. He’s a smart kid, he’ll figure it out.”

“Not if we can turn his attention away from us and back around to Savage.”

“And how do you suppose we do that?”

“I’m sure I can think of a few things. After all this is a simple matter of misdirection and you and I both know that I am the best at that,” Merlyn smirked.

“Yes that’s why some people refer to you as a magician. I don’t like magicians. They’re mostly just muggles making fun of the noble art of magic by mimicking it with sleight of hand tricks or actual wizards with no regard for the sanctity of the wizarding world using it to get rich off of foolish muggles. It’s a preposterous and offensive concept and I loathe you for accepting Magician as a nickname.”

“If you loathe me then why are we working together? Oh that’s right it’s because you can’t read the ancient runes on the medallion to make it work and I can,” Merlyn replied smugly.

“You know I could always just use the Imperius Curse on you and make you translate the inscriptions for me, right?”

“You could try but I have too strong of a will to be Imperiused. Meanwhile, why am I working with you again?” Merlyn replied with a smirk.

“Because you and I both know that I am a far superior sorcerer than you and that if you have any hope in making it through whatever trials are needed to recover the Spear of Destiny that you’ll need someone of my skill to help you. We’re in this together whether we like it or not.”

“Yes, then I suppose the only real question is why are we working with Thawne? What purpose does he play in this?”

“Well, according to him in the future he comes from we fail miserably at our goals and that if we want to avoid our previous mistakes we need to take his advice and work with him. Though if you ask me he might just be deceiving us in order to use us as his pawns to get to the spear himself.”

“I couldn’t agree more. So what do you say we drop the dead weight and simply find the spear on our own?”

“Not yet, this stupid decree still has me on edge. Assuming that Leonard Snart is not capable of defeating Savage and removing him from power before the second half of the Longinus Medallion reveals itself then should Savage see fit to remove us from our teaching positions we will not be able to be reinstated. And you and I both know that the medallion is somewhere on schoolgrounds. If we have any hope of remaining here long enough to find it we have to do everything we can to ensure our teaching positions are secured and that means that Thawne might actually be helpful given his position in the Ministry.”

“I thought you just said we didn’t need him?” Merlyn questioned.

“For retrieving the Spear, no. For staying at the school long enough to find the last piece of the map? For that unfortunately we do need him.”

 

Merlyn sighed at the other man with an eyeroll.

 

“And then we can drop the dead weight?” he asked Darhk.

“With an emphasis on dead,” Darhk smirked earning one in return from Merlyn as the two men chuckled gleefully at their plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is all of this making sense to everyone? Does the Legion storyline confuse anyone? How about Savage's plot? Is there anything you liked about this chapter or didn't like? Please let me know your thoughts and feelings down below in the comment section!


	22. Know Thy Enemy

“And so I was wondering Professor, if you would allow me a note to access the Restricted Section in the Library so that I can figure out what Professors Darhk and Merlyn were talking about. I already checked all of the unrestricted books and not a single one of them mentions anything about a spear or medallion, or at least not any that have a connection to one another. So… what do you say Professor?” Leonard asked Rip after Flying class the Friday following his latest attempt at spying on his other professors.

“No,” Rip replied before walking away from the boy.

“Wha- No?” Leonard said as he followed Rip off.

“No. I told you before that I didn’t want you looking too closely at Professors Darhk and Merlyn and instead you refuse to listen and now you want me to give you permission to investigate them further. And here I thought you were one of my brightest students.”

“I am!”

“Obviously not since you can’t seem to grasp the fact that they are dangerous even when you yourself can see that plainly.”

“Just because they’re dangerous doesn’t mean I can’t handle them. I mean if Harry Potter could kill a Basilisk in his second year despite not having the best grades then why should I not be able to stop a trio of wizards when I have yet to get less than a 97% on any of my tests or homework?”

“Because Mr. Snart, there is a big difference between your schoolwork and facing off against the forces of evil. And as for using Harry Potter as an example for anything, need I remind you that he was a prophesized chosen one whereas you yourself are not? Now run along and forget this nonsense,” Rip said before walking faster to get away from Leonard.

“But Professor, I-” Leonard tried to say before sighing in defeat at his request.

 

Leonard then met up with Mick and Sara in the Library to study with Leonard being too distracted from staring at the Restricted Section to focus on the homework.

 

“Len, you still with us?” Sara asked him, pulling him away from his thoughts.

“Sorry Sara, just a little preoccupied. Professor Hunter wouldn’t give me a permission note to access the Restricted Section,” Leonard replied.

“Why’d you need to get in there for? Ain’t the books you have enough?” Mick questioned.

“Not when I’m trying to find out what Professors Darhk and Merlyn are up to. I heard them talk about some sort of spear and a medallion the other day. I tried looking in the books I do have access to but none of them have the information I was looking for. Figured the Restricted Section would be the best bet.”

“Meanwhile that Polyjuice Potion is also something that can only be found in the Restricted Section as evidenced by the fact that it’s not in our texts nor any of the potion books we have access to as first years. Which begs the question, if you couldn’t get access to the Restricted Section for this then how did you before and without raising any alarms when the Aurors were investigating the gala incident?” Sara asked him.

“Simple. I didn’t. I ‘borrowed’ a more advanced textbook from one of the older Ravenclaw students and used the recipe in there to brew the potion,” Leonard replied with finger quotes around the word ‘borrowed’.

“And they say Mick is the bad influence,” Sara replied with an eyeroll.

“Hey just because I don’t know how to stay out of trouble doesn’t make me any kind of influence. If people decide to join me in all the fun and chaos of being bad well that ain’t my fault just their own bad decisions,” Mick interjected.

“He has a point,” Leonard added.

“Still. Between spying on the teachers, impersonating McGonagall, and ‘borrowing’ other people’s books you’re on a fast track to permanent residency in the Detention Hall,” Sara commented.

“Hey you’re the one who said I should do something about the professors.”

“Yes and I’m not taking that back I’m just saying that you need to dial it back a little and oh I don’t know maybe focus on one threat at a time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means, are you trying to stop the professors and Thawne or are you trying to stop Savage? Because if you’re trying to do both at once you’re going to wear yourself out and wind up making a fatal mistake that gets you caught and you can’t risk it. So, who’s the real concern right now? Savage or the… Terrible Trio?” Sara asked.

“The Legion of Doom!” Mick declared.

“I’m not calling them that,” Sara glared at him.

“Well I ain’t calling them the Terrible Trio, that’s lame!” Mick shot back.

“GUYS! Can we please focus and stop bickering about team names for our enemies?” Leonard interjected.

“Fine,” Sara huffed.

“Fine,” Mick huffed.

“Thank you. Now I hate to admit this but you’re right. I should only focus on one issue at a time. The question is which one?”

“Well you said that the Legion needs to wait a year or so before they can find some map to get a spear so that ranks pretty low on the threat meter. On the other hand what’s Savage up to besides replacing a bunch of teachers with people he likes? Are we sure either of them are a threat?” Mick questioned.

“Leonard said the Trio referred to Savage’s plans as wanting to conquer the world.”

“Yeah with an army of kid wizards. That hardly sounds like a plot by an evil mastermind. And besides what if they knew Len was listening to ‘em the whole time and exaggerated the whole thing? How do we know the Legion ain’t just pulling our legs with this whole Savage is a future dictator crap?” Mick countered.

“We don’t,” Leonard replied.

“Well there’s got to be some way to figure out which of them is more of a concern at the moment,” Sara said.

 

A book suddenly dropped from a nearby shelf loudly clattering onto the floor gaining the attention of the three young wizards. Leonard got up from his seat and walked over to it, picking it up in his hands as his friends followed over.

 

“ _Legilimency for Beginners_ ,” Leonard read.

“Legilimency? What’s that?” Sara asked.

“Hell if I know,” Mick replied.

“Let’s see here,” Leonard said as he turned the pages of the book.

“Legilimency: the art of magically navigating through the many layers of a person's mind and correctly interpreting one's findings. Looks like we just found a way to discover the biggest threat,” Leonard smiled at his friends.

“Pretty big coincidence that this fell from the shelf just as we were looking for exactly that,” Sara pointed out.

“You’re right and it’s very possible if not likely that this is the result of one of our professors trying to persuade us away from their goals but still it does seem a bit of a risk on their part to allow us the chance to invade their minds. Besides, unlike them Savage isn’t on to us which means he won’t likely be prepared to counter this kind of magic. If we can’t figure out what the Legion is up to. We can at least uncover Savage’s true goals. If his are an immediate concern we focus on him, if not we start with the threat that’s closer to home. Sound good?”

“I’m in,” Mick smiled.

“Me too,” Sara smirked.

“Then let’s get to work, shall we?” Leonard smiled devilishly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone liking the story? How about the team dynamics with Leonard and his friends? What about Rip's role in the story? Let me know your thoughts or concerns down below in the comment section!


	23. Down the Rabbit Hole

Leonard led Sara and Mick to the Room of Requirement in order to perform the art of Legilimency, figuring that this would require privacy. The room had transfigured itself to be lit by a fireplace with an extra-large ottoman of a deep navy-blue color at the center that the three students sat upon in a circle.

 

“What’s up with the room? I thought it had that preservation cupboard or whatever and all that potion making crap,” Mick questioned.

“That’s my Potions Room. Because the Room of Requirement can completely alter itself and its contents depending on what’s needed of it I simply asked the room for a nice, quiet, comfortable space figuring it could help with the Legilimency and the room became this. The Potions Room still exists it’s just not here at the moment because the room knows it’s not needed,” Leonard explained.

“Huh. So if someone needed a buffet and a bed to sleep it off it could replace this room with all that?” Mick asked with a smile.

“It could create the bed but since food is one of the five principal exceptions to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration the buffet probably wouldn’t happen,” Leonard answered.

“Aw,” Mick groaned.

“Guys, can we please focus on invading the mind of our elected government official? Wow, there’s a sentence I never thought I’d say,” Sara interjected.

“Agreed. Let’s begin, shall we?” Leonard replied.

“Alright so how does this work? We just meditate or something and we can read Savage’s mind?” Mick wondered.

“Something like that. The book says we have to focus on the person whose mind we wish to invade intensely, not allowing anything else to cross our minds and recite the incantation ‘Legilimens’. Make sense?”

“As much sense as it’s going to. We don’t have to hold hands or nothing do we?” Mick asked his friend.

“No.”

“Good.”

“Alright now it should be a bit easier if we do this together or at the very least we should be able to pry more information so is everybody ready?”

“Ready,” Mick answered.

“Ready,” Sara replied firmly.

“Alright, on the count of three. One, two, three…”

“Legilimens!” the three friends recited together.

 

The three then took individual trips down the rabbit hole into Vandal Savage’s mind. Mick found his way into Savage’s memories. There he saw a plethora of things. He saw Savage as a boy drowning a kitten his mother had gotten for him in a river near his childhood home. He saw the man perform the Killing Curse on an innocent student who caught him practicing the Dark Arts while he was but a boy in his third year at Hogwarts. He saw the man use the Cruciatus Curse so potently that a mere four minutes drove a man to insanity. He saw the wicked grin on the man’s face as he gutted a simple muggle beggar in an alley. He couldn’t stomach anymore and turned away vomiting onto the floor.

 

What Sara experienced was different. Instead of seeing memories she felt them. She felt his sadistic joy, his love of death and violence, his hatred of others. She felt the darkness within his soul and the evil that comprised his very being. She felt his heart colder than ice. She felt the bottomless abyss of pure malicious intent as it bubbled under the surface of his charm. She felt his true self. She felt the monster he was inside. She let out a scream as the fear she felt toward this man overcame her causing her to ball up on the ottoman.

 

What Leonard experienced was different still. He didn’t see real memories nor feel the malevolence that was Vandal Savage. He saw into the man’s dreams. He saw muggles in chains, buildings on fire or in ruins, people bowing before Savage or lying dead at his feet. He saw death and destruction, pain and suffering. He saw blood flowing through streets as if they were rivers. He saw people burning in Fiendfyre, turning to twisted stone statues of human agony, obeying the most heinous commands under the Imperius Curse. He saw mere children casting the Unforgivable Curses upon innocent civilians and children even younger than them. He saw a world under Savage’s thumb, a dark, cruel world where all the countries were under his control, where muggles and wizards alike submit to slavery doing Savage’s bidding as he sees fit. He gasped in horror as he ended the spell burying his face in his hands fearing that those dark images would still remain if he opened his eyes.

 

“Please don’t make us do that again,” Sara whimpered as she continued to lie on the ottoman with her knees in her chest.

“Please!” Mick seconded as his whole body shook from fright.

“Don’t worry. We are _never_ doing that again. I don’t care what evil plot Thawne and the professors have brewing, Savage _must_ be stopped at all costs. If you two don’t want to go up against him I’ll understand. I don’t think I even need to ask what you both saw to know it was enough to make you want out,” Leonard replied.

 

There was silence for a moment as Sara and Mick both considered what Len was saying.

 

“I’m in,” Mick said.

“You are?” Leonard asked, surprised that Mick would be willing to risk his life for something like this.

“Yeah. You think I’m going to let my best friend go after this psycho alone? Hell no. I got your back, always.”

“Me too. After all I was the one who convinced you to start trying to do something about guys like Savage. If you’re actually doing this then it’s only fitting that I help out too,” Sara added earning a smile from Leonard who had never been prouder to call these two his friends.

 

Meanwhile at the Ministry of Magic Headquarters Auror Zaman Druce entered the office of Vandal Savage to see the man sitting in his chair.

 

“Minister Savage, you wanted to see me?” Druce asked.

“Yes. On this night my mind was invaded using the art of Legilimency by an unknown perpetrator. Most likely it is the same person who impersonated Headmistress McGonagall at the gala a couple months ago. I tried to backtrack the connection to its source but was unable to figure out exactly who it was but I know one thing for certain,” Vandal Savage informed his associate.

“And what is that, sir?”

“Our initial suspicions were correct. The culprit is indeed at Hogwarts,” Savage smiled devilishly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did everyone think of this chapter? Does this seem realistic for what goes on inside Vandal Savage's mind? Do their reactions to it seem likely for the three of them? Let me know your thoughts and feelings down below in the comment section!


	24. Facing the Devil Himself

Savage walked through the halls of Hogwarts in the company of Zaman Druce while looking through the Aurors’ files on their investigation into the gala incident.

 

“I see this Leonard Snart fellow was the prime suspect and yet you simply disregarded him based on a shaky alibi. Mind telling me why?” Savage asked his associate.

“His father Lewis is an Auror and was part of the investigation. He and Mr. Thawne were both convinced of his innocence. Though if you ask me the young Mr. Snart was more than likely just very good at telling lies,” Druce replied.

“I see. And it says here that he’s a first year. Well that might explain the lack of subtlety the perpetrator had in penetrating my mind. It would also make it highly unlikely that he’d be able to resist the effects of Veritaserum.”

“Veritaserum? Are you sure Headmistress McGonagall would allow the use of such potion on a student?”

“She won’t have any say in the matter. Now it says in this file that Mr. Snart is currently in his afternoon Charms class with a Professor Hunter. What do you say we drop in and ask the boy a few questions?”

“I say, right behind you,” Druce replied as they rounded a corner.

 

Meanwhile, in Professor Hunter’s classroom the students were practicing the Unlocking Charm on a set of locked boxes with puzzle pieces inside of them.

 

“Very good now class. What I want for you to do next is to use the Levitation Charm on the pieces in your individual boxes and work together with those of your house to form a complete puzzle with the image of your house flag. Whichever house completes their puzzle first will earn fifty-” Rip instructed before being interrupted by Savage, clearing his throat as he entered the room.

“Pardon me, Professor, but might we have a word with Mr. Snart for a moment?” Savage asked.

“And what is it that you want with him?” Rip asked sending a glare Leonard’s way.

“That is the Ministry’s business I’m afraid so if you’d please,” Savage insisted.

“I think not. If you wish to remove a student from my classroom you must have permission from the Headmistress and if not then I kindly ask you to leave so that I may continue with my lesson. So Mr. Savage, do you have permission from Headmistress McGonagall?” Rip asked sternly.

“Of course, sir,” Savage smiled while lying through his teeth as the Headmistress was not even aware that the man was on the schoolgrounds.

“Really?” Rip asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you calling the Minister for Magic a liar?” Druce questioned the professor.

“Certainly not. Mr. Snart, if you would please join Mr. Savage and his associate for a quick conversation,” Rip said to Leonard who looked at him as if he’d gone mad, which the boy was certain he had.

“Well? Go on then,” Rip said gesturing to the door.

 

Leonard reluctantly rose from his seat and walked slowly to and out the door with Savage and Druce. The two wizards, both of dark hearts, led him down the corridor as the boy’s heart pounded out of his chest in fear, thinking that he was being led only to his doom. The three stopped just as they reached a flight of stairs. How smart, Leonard thought, no one would suspect foul play if they assume his death was a simple accident from a fall down the stairs.

 

“Now. Mr. Snart I hear that on the night of the gala incident you were out skinny dipping, is that correct?” Savage asked him.

“Y-yes sir,” Leonard replied.

“Really? And what was it that you were doing two nights ago around 8 o’clock in the evening?”

“I was studying sir. Just studying.”

“Right, would you mind drinking this?” Savage asked as he produced a potion vial from his jacket pocket.

“And what is that, sir?” Leonard asked with a gulp of fear.

“Veritaserum, the world’s most potent truth serum. If you are telling the truth then you would have no reason to be as fearful as you seem. If you are lying, however, well,” Savage said before chuckling evilly.

“Ah we shall see then won’t we, Mr. Snart?” Savage continued as he handed the potion to Leonard.

 

Leonard slowly reached a hand out to the vial hesitantly as he didn’t want to take the Veritaserum even though his sense of danger wasn’t acting up to make him fear it may actually be a poison. He knew, though, that if he didn’t take the potion that Savage’s beliefs would only be confirmed either way and then he would be in real trouble. He grabbed the vial, popping the cork before slowly lifting it toward his lips. He was about to take a sip when…

 

“MR. SAVAGE!” McGonagall screamed as she came up the stairs.

“What on Earth do you think you are doing with Mr. Snart?!” she asked furiously.

“Ah Headmistress. I didn’t want to bother you but the other night my mind was invaded via the use of Legilimency which I sensed to have originated from this school. I suspect the person responsible might also have been the one to impersonate you at the gala a couple months ago and since Mr. Snart was the first suspect-”

“You thought that gave you the right to force him to drink a potion so as to interrogate him?” she asked angrily.

“It is simple Veritaserum. It is completely harmless,” Druce mentioned.

“Even so, you do not have the right to interrogate my students without my permission even if you are the Minister.”

“Might I ask, Headmistress, how exactly did you know that I was here?” Savage asked her.

“Professor Hunter set up a rather useful system of communication throughout the castle akin to telephone, only instead of talking into a mechanical device one talks into a mirror. Quite handy for instant notification of uninvited visitors to the castle. Now if you would please, _leave_ ,” she said sternly.

“As you wish Headmistress,” Savage replied with a smile and a nod.

“Come along Mr. Druce,” he added turning to his associate.

“Of course sir,” Druce replied as they walked past Leonard whom the Auror sneered at as he passed him.

 

Once the two men were out of earshot Headmistress McGonagall turned to Leonard who was still stricken with fear after that encounter.

 

“Mr. Snart, care to tell me what exactly it is that you are up to as of late?” she asked him.

“Nothing miss. I swear.”

“Oh I’m sure,” she replied with an air of disbelief.

“I’ve known boys like you Mr. Snart, they tend to either cause trouble or to find it and when it comes to the latter great tragedy tends to follow in their wake. I urge you Mr. Snart to please cease and desist at once before you wind up getting yourself in Azkaban or even dead. Do you understand?”

“Yes Headmistress,” he nodded.

“I hope you do. Now run along back to class. Quickly,” she said gesturing back to the Charms classroom.

“Yes Headmistress,” Leonard replied before running off.

 

McGonagall shook her head with a soft chuckle as she saw him take off down the hall.

 

“If he doesn’t turn out to be one of the legendary ones I might just have to retire,” she smiled, turning to leave for her office.

 

Meanwhile, Savage and Druce continued their way out of the castle.

 

“Are we really just going to leave and give up?” Druce asked the Minister.

“Of course not Mr. Druce. I just see no reason in making my next move just yet. After all I already know who was responsible for using Legilimency against me given Mr. Snart’s very obvious fear when we confronted him. I say we let him stew in his fears for a little while longer while we prepare for the take-over of Hogwarts. After all this isn’t the end Mr. Druce. On the contrary this is merely the beginning,” Savage smiled wickedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What does everyone think of how I'm portraying Savage in this piece? What about my portrayal of McGonagall? Anyone as scared as Leonard is? Let me know what you thought of this chapter down below!


	25. Forgive and Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this morning I opened my inbox to find that a tumblr user called WaveRiderA had sent me a link to a fanart they did of Gryffindor!Sara with a canary patronus and it was too good not to share with all of you. Here's the link they sent me:
> 
> https://78.media.tumblr.com/c9a076956b2e1655c4e8c720dbe1fae2/tumblr_oxt1sltxDu1wax1kzo1_1280.png

Leonard was just coming back to Ravenclaw Tower from a morning run in the Dark Forest in his Animagus form before it was time for breakfast. He really loved going for runs as a dog. It felt so freeing and helped ease his troubled mind allowing him to forget about all the dangers that surrounded him. He was so at peace after his run that he didn’t even notice that he had tracked in mud until…

 

“Why the bloody hell are there pawprints in here?!” Cisco shouted as he opened the door of the common room.

“What?” Leonard replied as he turned around to see that there were indeed muddy pawprints on the floors at the entrance of Ravenclaw Tower that led into muddy shoeprints.

“Oh. Well that’s certainly odd isn’t it. Well time for breakfast,” Leonard added as he tried to leave.

“Hold up. Why are your shoes dirty?” Cisco asked eyeing him suspiciously.

“What? Oh, I just got back from a run around the castle. Now let’s go to breakfast,” Leonard said as he tried to leave only to be pulled back by the shoulder.

“Not so fast Snart. If your shoes are dirty then why aren’t there any shoeprints in the halls?”

“Uh…”

“And why does it look like those pawprints sort of merge with your footprints?” Cisco added before Leonard could give an excuse.

“Uh…”

“What’s going on Snart?” he added once more just as quickly.

“Uh, well you see I was actually out running with Rogue. You know the dog. And I passed by Mr. Filch who told me to take my shoes off before coming inside so I did and came as far as the entrance before putting them back on. But then I noticed Rogue had followed me and I know how much you hate him so I shooed him away before you got here. Is that a problem or can we go down to the Great Hall for breakfast?”

“No, no problem. But if you lead that dog back up to the Tower you and I are going to have words Snart and I can’t promise they won’t involve magic,” Cisco replied in a seemingly unconvinced manner.

“Okay then.”

 

The two boys headed down for breakfast at their house table with Cisco giving Leonard the side-eye the whole time making Leonard worry that Cisco might be onto him. Luckily for him today’s Potions class had them brewing a Forgetfulness Potion.

 

“Alright class now that you’ve heated the Lethe River Water I want you to add two Valerian sprigs to the cauldron then stir three times clockwise,” Merlyn instructed with the class doing as told.

“Very good now wave your wands over the potion then let it sit to brew for between 45 minutes to an hour. In the meantime you can take this little quiz over the twelve different uses of dragon blood,” Merlyn continued before passing out the pop quiz to a choir of groans as the class finished with the first part of the potion.

“I’ll take that to mean that you read that chapter like you were supposed to and are completely prepared. And begin,” Merlyn added as he set a timer for the potions.

 

The Ravenclaws all got through with their quizzes rather quickly while the Hufflepuffs were still scratching their heads over question nine. While studying his textbook Leonard felt something hit the back of his head. He ignored it and continued reading until he felt it hit his head again, and again, and again until finally he reached behind and grabbed the item in question. It turned out to be a paper plane that Cisco had been hitting him with via the magic of Cisco’s wand. Leonard opened up the paper plane to read a message on it that said:

 

_I know your secret._

Leonard’s eyes went wide and he looked back behind him to see Cisco smirk and wave his fingers mockingly. Leonard hoped Cisco didn’t actually know what he was talking about and that he didn’t know he was an Animagus. He crumpled the paper in his hands and took a deep breath reminding himself that this potion they were brewing right now would be able to make Cisco forget his suspicions if he did know.

 

“Alright class next you want to add two measures of Standard Ingredient to your mortars along with four mistletoe berries before crushing them to a fine powder using your pestles,” Merlyn instructed once the time was up and they began on part two of the potion.

“Very good next add two pinches of the powder to your cauldrons, stir five times counter-clockwise, then wave your wand to complete the potion,” the professor finished.

 

The potions then puffed a bit of smoke as the class completed them per Professor Merlyn’s instructions with Leonard quickly bottling a bit of it in his vial before anyone could notice.

 

“Excellent work class. I’m afraid that’s all the time we have for today so please be sure to study for Tuesday’s test and I’ll see you all next week,” Merlyn said as the class shuffled out of the room.

 

Leonard spent the next two classes trying to figure out how to slip the Forgetfulness Potion to Cisco without anyone noticing before his fellow Ravenclaw could out his secret, assuming he actually knew. Luckily lunch came around and Leonard moved to add the potion to Cisco’s pumpkin juice only for Cisco to quickly pull his cup away before he could.

 

“Not so fast Snart,” Cisco said as he got up pulling Leonard away with him.

“Trying to slip me a Forgetfulness Potion on the exact same day that we brewed it for class? And here I thought you were smarter than that. Especially since you were smart enough to turn yourself into an Animagus. And _don’t_ try to deny it. I saw you with that book last fall,” he added once they were out in the hall.

“Cisco, I am only going to ask you this once. Please don’t tell or I will use a potion or a memory charm on you to make you forget,” Leonard insisted calmly.

“Hmm, let’s see now, you turned into that dumb dog Rogue using magic that’s illegal without registration and attacked me several times and you expect me not to tell anyone just because you threaten me with magic? Ha. Figures that’d be the route you go with this. After all you Snarts are hardly the most reasonable wizards.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re just as despicable as your father. He bullied my father with the Cruciatus Curse all the time when they were in school and now you’re threatening me with magic to keep your illegal use of magic secret. You’re just like him,” Cisco said before turning to reenter the Great Hall.

“That’s what all this has been about? My father bullied yours so now you’re picking on me and my friends out of revenge?” Leonard said stopping Cisco in his tracks.

“I’m not picking on anyone. I’m just standing up for myself.”

“Against what? I never would have done anything to you had you not started messing with me and my friends since school started.”

“Yeah right. Your dad was a jerk and so are you.”

“You don’t know anything about me! All you know is that my father used the Cruciatus Curse when he was a kid. Do you think he ever stopped using it? Do you think he only ever used it on people like your father? I have had to live with him my whole life. My father has a nasty temper and anytime I ever did anything that pissed him off he’d cast the curse on me. C-R-U-C-I-O. That is exactly how you spell the curse’s incantation. I know because I have heard it countless times during my life and will probably hear it countless more. You think that I’m my father’s son? Well I’m not. But if you really think that you can punish me for being his son any more than he already has then go right ahead. But leave my friends out of this silly, little vendetta of yours because they most certainly do not deserve it.”

 

Cisco stood there speechless for a moment stunned by what Leonard just told him.

 

“You know what just forget it,” Leonard said turning to reenter the Great Hall.

“I’m sorry. For everything. I didn’t know. Never would’ve thought that someone could do something like that to their own kid. I won’t mess with you anymore or your friends. And Snart? Your secret? It’s safe with me,” Cisco told him before walking past Leonard to enter the room before being stopped in his tracks by Leonard who extended a hand to him.

“Bygones?” Leonard asked.

“Bygones,” Cisco replied with a smile as he shook Leonard’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering why Cisco said that his dad went to school with Lewis when Mick had called him a mudblood (aka a muggle-born) in Chapter 13 it's because Mick wasn't actually aware of Cisco's blood status and only knew that mudblood was a term used as an insult. Also, thoughts on the chapter? How did everyone feel about Leonard and Cisco resolving their issues? Thoughts on Cisco finding out Len is an Animagus before Mick did? Please let me know how you felt about the chapter down below!


	26. Fear of the Minister

Almost halfway through April, Leonard was enjoying life as much as he ever had. He had good friends, his classes were going well, Cisco wasn’t bothering him anymore. Everything was going good until…

 

“Mr. Snart, I need you to come with me please,” Headmistress McGonagall said to him.

“Of course Headmistress. I’ll uh see you guys later,” Leonard replied before turning to Sara and Mick.

“No problem,” Sara replied.

“Catch you later,” Mick said as Leonard walked off with McGonagall.

“Is there a problem Headmistress?” Leonard asked the woman as they walked.

“I should say there is. Minister Savage is here to interrogate you with Veritaserum once more only this time he has the authority to do so,” McGonagall answered.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s brought your father along to grant him permission to use the potion on you.”

“What about the antidote? Couldn’t that allow me to lie to him?”

“Unfortunately not. The antidote to Veritaserum is only effective if one drinks it after the Veritaserum has been administered which you will be unable to do without being caught by Savage and your father which would only go to prove your guilt. What were you even thinking? Impersonating me? Invading Savage’s mind?”

“I was thinking that Vandal Savage has the darkest soul out of anyone I have ever encountered and that someone ought to keep an eye on him. I had no idea he’d be able to track me down.”

 

McGonagall let out an exasperated sigh as they entered her office to find Savage and Lewis Snart already waiting for them.

 

“Leonard,” Lewis said to his son.

“Father,” Leonard said with a nod.

“Mr. Snart,” Savage added.

“Minister Savage,” Leonard said with a gulp of fear caused by the sheer presence of the man.

“Well? Let’s get on with it. The sooner we prove my boy’s innocence the sooner we can put this nonsense behind us,” Lewis insisted.

“Of course Mr. Snart. Here, drink this and we can begin,” Savage replied before handing the Veritaserum to Leonard.

“Certainly sir,” Leonard said as he downed the potion while clearing his mind of everything in an attempt at Occlumency.

“Now, did you or did you not use the art of Legilimency to invade my mind?” Savage questioned.

“I… did…” Leonard started to reply with the adults in the room anxious to hear how he would end his sentence.

“Sir,” Leonard sighed as he finished disappointed that he was unable to counter the effects of the Veritaserum with Occlumency.

“You what?!” Lewis screamed at him.

“Calm yourself Mr. Snart. No need to lose your temper. Perhaps Leonard could simply explain as to why he did what he did. Hmm?” Savage interrupted with a smirk on his face.

 

Leonard could tell the man was enjoying watching him squirm.

 

“I have this sort of gift for sensing people’s auras. Yours is far darker than anyone else I have ever met. You frighten me. Very much so. I thought it a good idea to keep an eye on you.”

“I see. Well did it ever occur to you that your gift is flawed and that what you think you sense isn’t actually correct?” savage questioned.

“No sir. My gift has never been wrong before and given what I saw in your mind I’d say that is all the proof I need to be sure that you are by far the most evil man I have ever encountered in my life,” Leonard said unable to stop himself much to his dread as he figured that his words would only anger this very dangerous man before him.

“Oh really? And what did you see in my mind pray tell?”

“I saw death and destruction, people’s wills bent to your own, muggles and wizards alike made into slaves, buildings in ruins, people on fire. I saw chaos and cruelty the likes of which I never could have imagined and which still give me nightmares and keep me awake at night unable to shut my eyes without seeing those horrific images I saw of your dreams and aspirations. I saw evil personified as a singular being. You, Mr. Savage. I saw you as you truly are. Not a man. But a monster.”

 

McGonagall sucked in a breath as Leonard described what he had seen in Vandal Savage’s mind as though she too was growing to be quite fearful of the new Minister. Lewis had no reaction to the regaling of Leonard’s attempt at Legilimency simply keeping his eyes fixed on his son. Savage started to laugh.

 

“My boy, you must be rather poor at Legilimency to believe those were my dreams. Those were not happy dreams or goals that I wish to achieve. They were my nightmares, the things that I fear could one day befall the world if dark wizards were to rise to power once more as they did during Voldemort’s reign of terror. That is why I have enacted this educational decree. You see I believe that with the proper teachers that not a single witch or wizard will ever grow up to become as heinous and despicable as the dark wizards of the past as good professors will be able to shape young minds for the better turning them away from the dark arts and villainous desires. I can assure you Leonard that my intentions are pure and that you have nothing to fear from me. Do you understand?”

“I understand what you’re saying. That doesn’t mean I believe a word of it,” Leonard replied.

“Sir,” he added as an afterthought hoping it would appease the Minister just a little.

“Very well then. In this case I say we let you off with a warning to never do this again. But if you do perform such magic again I will ask that either the Headmistress or your father deal your punishment as they see fit,” Savage said to the boy gesturing between McGonagall on his right and Lewis Snart on his left.

“Understood sir,” Leonard said timidly as he looked to his father who seemed rather displeased which was never a good sign.

“Very well then we should be off. We have very important work to get back to at the Ministry,” Savage replied heading to the door with Lewis in tow.

“Good day Headmistress,” Lewis said to McGonagall.

“Good day Mr. Snart,” McGonagall said as the two men left the room before turning to Leonard.

“How bad was it? What you saw in Mr. Savage’s mind. How bad-” she asked Leonard.

“It was the most horrific thing I have ever seen. Think of the conditions at concentration camps during World War II in Nazi Germany and multiply that by a hundred, maybe more,” Leonard replied with a look of terror on his face as he thought back on what he’d seen when he peered into Savage’s mind.

“I see. Mr. Snart, I want you to promise me that you will not do anything that would put you on Savage’s bad side ever again. I refuse to allow a student to put themselves in such grave danger. Do you promise?” she asked him.

“I promise,” Leonard nodded, pleased to find that the effects of the Veritaserum had finally worn off.

“Good. Now run along I’m sure you have much you need to be studying,” she said ushering Leonard out of her office.

“Good day Headmistress.”

“Good day Mr. Snart.”

 

Leonard headed off to try and find his friends only to be horrified when he saw Sara yelling at Savage in the Courtyard. Vandal Savage was easily the most terrifying person either of them had ever met and yet here she was screaming at him as if she had no fear for what he couldn’t quite make out at the distance he was currently at given the fact he was too afraid to get closer. But he was sure of one thing. She was a goner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will begin where this one left of with Sara berating Savage. Anyone have a guess as to what is to come? Any questions about what's been going on so far or what is coming down the way? Please let me know your thoughts down below in the comments!


	27. Brave

Leonard watched from the distance as Sara screamed at the dark wizard that was unfortunately the Minister for Magic. He was scared senseless. He knew that Savage was a dangerous man and was fearful of what he would do to Sara for disrespecting him in front of the various students watching from around the Courtyard.

 

“And furthermore you should be ashamed of yourself for harassing a child! You are the Minister for Magic for God’s sake! You should be setting an example for dignity and respect, not one for immature pettiness! Even if Leonard were responsible for what it is you claim he’s done you have no right to abuse your power and waste Ministry resources on some petty vendetta! Shame on you Mr. Savage! Shame. On. You!” Sara screamed at him, wagging her finger in a bout of rage.

 

This was it. Leonard thought for certain Sara was done for. Then Savage laughed.

 

“My, my, what a bold spirit you have little girl. Truly a Gryffindor trait. Another notable trait of the Gryffindor house that you seem to possess is your complete and utter lack of respect for your superiors. Little girl, one does not yell rudely as you did to a government official without consequence. Now given your muggle-born status I think I can forgive your behavior. After all with such ignorant upbringing I doubt you could have known what is an appropriate manner of speaking to someone of a higher status than yourself. So for future reference I would recommend watching your tongue around those with the power to put you away in Azkaban Prison,” Savage replied with a wicked smile.

“Good day little girl,” he said patting Sara’s head before walking away.

 

Leonard ran over to Sara as she picked up a somewhat large rock preparing to throw it at Savage for talking down to her.

 

“Give me that!” Leonard insisted as he grabbed said rock from Sara’s hands.

“What are you mad?! You know what kind of man Savage is. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you! What were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking that he had no right to harass you as he has been with these interrogations and such and that if you weren’t going to stand up to him I would,” Sara replied.

“Look I’m all for working against Savage so that he can’t use his power as the Minister to destroy the world. That’s fine. What’s not fine is risking your neck solely to yell at him. Why would you do that anyway? What would possibly possess you to scream at him even though you knew he wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if he wanted?”

“It’s a little something called courage, bravery. It’s called doing something that’s right even though it terrifies you to do it. It’s called having a backbone. Something you might want to try sometime.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that despite all your good qualities you’re really quite a coward when it comes to standing up for yourself. You’ve only ever confronted a problem like Cisco’s bullying when it affected me or Mick. You’ve never faced an enemy with your head held high on your own behalf. You’ve always been timid and shy when confronted by someone who was out to get you. I don’t understand how you could go about your life not standing up for yourself.”

“And I don’t understand how you could be so brave when faced with someone so evil.”

“Want to know my secret?”

 

Leonard nodded in response hoping for some answers on how to be brave like Sara.

 

“It’s quite simple. In order to be brave you just have to be good at acting,” Sara told him.

“Huh?”

“Bravery is all about being afraid and pretending you’re not. It’s just an act of fearlessness. Bravery isn’t the lack of fear it’s the existence of fear and the ability to not let anyone else know that you’re scared. I have to go to class. I’ll see you at supper,” Sara said leaving Leonard where he stood.

 

Leonard spent the next few weeks leading into May thinking on what Sara said. He thought about how he was afraid of a lot of things but that he could pretend he wasn’t for the sake of his friends. He also thought about how despite being able to be brave for those he cares about he couldn’t do the same for himself. That’s when he realized he didn’t really care about what happened to himself.

 

After all the years he’s spent being abused by his father he’s stopped caring about whether or not he gets hurt. All he really cares about is protecting those he cares for. Then a thought crossed his mind. If he didn’t care what happened to him, then what was stopping him from facing the things that scared him? What was holding him back from standing up for himself?

 

And that was how he got himself detention for a week after getting into a fight with another student who called him the dumbest Ravenclaw who ever lived. He hated being called stupid especially by one who was themselves dumber than a bag of rocks.

 

“You got into a fight with Scudder?” Sara questioned him.

“Yeah so?” Leonard replied.

“Who won?” Mick asked.

“Mick, that’s not the point,” Sara argued.

“So? Come on, who won?” Mick replied before repeating his question to Leonard.

“Not sure there really was a winner. McGonagall pulled us apart before it could finish. But I’m pretty sure I gave him a black eye,” Leonard answered.

“Ha! Nice one!” Mick said high fiving his best friend while Sara rolled her eyes.

“This isn’t exactly a good thing you know. I mean I know I told you to start sticking up for yourself, but I didn’t think that would lead to you getting detention.”

“So what? I still stood up for myself. And you know what? It felt great! I’ve never done that before and it was thrilling! No wonder you Gryffindors are so brave. Being brave is exhilarating!” Leonard replied with a smile.

“Well despite getting into trouble for it I have to admit I am rather proud of you. It’s about time you started defending yourself,” Sara smiled playfully punching Leonard’s arm.

 

Leonard then pulled Sara in for a hug.

 

“Thank you for helping he be brave,” he whispered in her ear as they hugged.

“No prob-” Sara said before gasping and pulling away from him.

“What? What’s wrong?” Leonard asked her with confusion.

 

Mick pointed behind him and Leonard turned to see his father standing there.

 

“F- father,” Leonard said as he realized that his father had just seen him hugging Sara.

“So, just comes up to you and doesn’t leave, does she? Funny considering it seemed an awful lot like you and her are friends,” Lewis said coldly.

“Leave,” Leonard said to Sara and Mick.

“What? We’re not leaving you alone with-” Mick replied before being interrupted by Leonard.

“I said leave,” Leonard said more forcefully.

 

Sara took Mick by the arm and led him away as Leonard insisted.

 

“So, do you have anything to say for yourself?” Lewis asked his son.

“Yes. Sara is my friend. She is a good friend and a loyal one. She is one of the best people I know and if you expect me to stop being friends with her just because she’s muggle-born or because she’s a Gryffindor then you will be gravely disappointed.”

“I see. I had come to have words regarding your behavior as of late given your latest round of detention. But instead I think I shall punish you for this blatant disregard for our family’s honor and blood status, for associating with mudbloods, and for talking back to me,” Lewis said as he pulled out his wand.

“Cruc-” Lewis started to say as he aimed his wand at Leonard.

“Expelliarmus!” Leonard shouted as he used his own wand to disarm his father before he could finish the Cruciatus Curse.

“Well… it would seem as though that little mudblood you’ve befriended is starting to rub off on you for you to act against me like that,” Lewis said glancing behind Leonard to see Sara and Mick bringing Headmistress McGonagall with them.

“Enjoy the rest of your school year my boy. You will be in for a very harsh punishment this summer when you return home,” Lewis said as he retrieved his wand.

“One more thing you ought to know father. When the Sorting Hat decided I belonged in Ravenclaw after a hatstall, it’s second choice wasn’t Slytherin. It was Gryffindor,” Leonard told him.

 

Lewis glared at him with a look of fury as he left the school. Leonard felt as though a weight had been lifted of his chest. For the first time in his life he had stood up to his father and he had honestly never felt better than he had at that very moment. He hoped this feeling would never go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did everyone think of the chapter? You glad Leonard finally stood up for himself? What do you think of Scudder becoming Leonard's new school nemesis now that Cisco's not an enemy anymore? Let me know your thoughts and feelings down below!


	28. Bullies

Leonard was heading off to meet his friends in the Library to study when he happened upon Sam Scudder and Rosa Dillon messing with Barry Allen using the Levitation Charm to throw him around the Grand Staircase like a ragdoll.

 

“Ple-e-e-a-ase stop!” Barry insisted dizzily as he flew left, right, up, down, and all around via Scudder’s wand.

“Make me Allen!” Scudder said as he continued to torment his classmate as Rosa laughed at the sight.

“Expelliarmus!” Leonard shouted disarming Scudder and making Barry start to fall.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” he shouted quickly to catch Barry just before he hit the hard-stone staircase some ways down.

“Thanks!” Barry said before spewing his guts as a result of the nauseating flight.

“Heeeeeyy we were having fun!” Rosa whined.

“Fun’s over. Now beat it,” Leonard said firmly.

“Or what? You’ll punch me again?” Scudder replied.

“No actually I think I’ll just slip a bit of Wideye Potion into your pumpkin juice later so that you won’t be able to sleep tonight. Then maybe I’ll do the same thing tomorrow, and the night after that, and the night after, and the night after-”

“Try something like that and you’ll find yourself with a bad case of the Bogies, Cold,” Scudder sneered.

“Right, not like I know the counter-curse or anything and actually got my nickname from that very curse. Meanwhile, you got yours from not being able to resist staring at your own reflection Mirror Master, very much like a bird that way. No, wait. That’d be an insult to birds. At least they look good in a mirror,” Leonard snarked.

 

Rosa readied her wand in anger at Leonard’s comment as Leonard did the same in defense. Both stared the other down until Argus Filch came up the stairs.

 

“Hey! You there! Don’t even think about dueling on these stairs! Bad enough I have to clean up this one’s vomit I don’t need to be cleaning up anyone’s blood too!” Filch yelled at the three of them from a flight of stairs down where Barry had lost his lunch.

“What’s it going to be Cold?” Scudder asked.

 

Leonard glared at the two Slytherins before slowly lowering his wand as Rosa did the same. He then turned to leave down the stairs which Rosa took advantage of.

 

“Flipendo!” the girl shouted with a flick of her wand causing Leonard to get knocked back falling down until he crashed onto the landing below.

 

Rosa and Scudder took off laughing as Filch gave chase yelling about them getting detention for all that just happened.

 

“Ow,” Leonard groaned as he got to his feet with some help from Barry.

“Hey, thanks for helping me back there,” Barry said to him.

“Don’t mention it,” Leonard said as he rolled his shoulder that was no doubt bruised from that fall.

“No seriously that was amazing the way you stood up to them like that. I haven’t really seen anything like that that wasn’t done by a Gryffindor.”

“Yeah well you remember how my sorting resulted in a hatstall?”

“Yeah?”

“The hat’s second choice was Gryffindor. At the time I thought the hat was crazy for thinking I could ever belong there but… I don’t know, lately it’s starting to make a bit of sense,” Leonard shrugged.

“Well I’ve gotta say based on what I just saw I think the hat might’ve made a mistake. You definitely should’ve been placed in Gryffindor.”

“I don’t know, I mean my grades are pretty exceptional plus I invented a few spells so,” Leonard shrugged.

“You did not! Wait, did you? Did you actually invent a spell?”

“No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Oh okay.”

“I invented three spells,” Leonard smirked patting Barry on the back before walking away.

“Wait what?!”

 

That wasn’t the last time Leonard had to stand up to Scudder and Dillon. Almost a month later he found the two of them playing keep away with Cisco’s wand in the Courtyard.

 

“Give it back!” Cisco screamed as he tried to grab his wand as it was thrown from Dillon to Scudder.

“Give it!” he shrieked as Rosa threw it back to Scudder.

 

Leonard wasted no time turning into his Animagus form Rogue and running at them as he barked and growled and snarled. Scudder and Dillon took off running into the castle with Rogue giving chase. However, during the chase Rogue managed to bite down on Scudder’s pant leg causing the other boy to fall an drop Cisco’s wand as Rogue started dragging him.

 

“Bad dog! Bad dog! Let go!” Scudder yelled as he reached to his pocket for his own wand which had broken in his fall.

“Flipendo!” Scudder yelled as his spell backfired shooting him back against the far wall knocking the boy out cold.

 

Rogue then grabbed Cisco’s wand in his mouth and took off back to the Courtyard where he dropped the wand into Cisco’s hands.

 

“Thanks Snart,” Cisco said petting his head earning a growl from Rogue.

“I’m sorry. Thanks _Rogue_. Oh wait did you growl because I called you by your name or because I was petting you?” Cisco asked the dog who then turned back into Leonard Snart.

“Bit of both actually,” Leonard replied.

“Dude, that was awesome,” Cisco grinned.

“Chasing off Scudder and Dillon? That was nothing.”

“No the whole Animagus transformation thing. I mean seriously the fact that you can turn into a dog at will is pretty sweet.”

“I guess so but for the record keeping a Mandrake leaf in your mouth for a month is just plain dreadful. Seriously, the taste alone made me want to take it out about halfway through. Yuck!”

“Ew. Gross. Well we should probably get to class now. You know how Darhk can be when students are late,” Cisco said before the two of them took off for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

 

Barely a week after that incident Scudder and Dillon were at it again. This time they were messing with Caitlin Snow by transfiguring her books into birds using the Avifors spell.

 

“Stop! Stop it!” Caitlin cried out as the birds swarmed her to Scudder and Dillon’s delight.

“Immobulus!” Leonard cried out causing the birds to seize up and fall to the ground.

“Avifors!” he incanted next to turn the birds back into Caitlin’s books.

“Really, Cold, you can’t let us have fun just this once?” Scudder complained.

“Your fun is against school rules and it’s just plain annoying. Seriously, can’t you two think of anything better to do with your time than to pick on other students?” Leonard replied.

“Nope. Messing with these losers is fun. Almost as much fun as this. Flipendo!” Rosa smiled as she knocked Leonard back with the spell.

“Really? How many times does that make now? Three? You would think that you would use a wider variety of spells. For example, Verdimillious!” Leonard shouted causing green sparks to hit Rosa.

“Ow!” she shouted as the sparks zapped her.

“Or how about the ever classic Lumos Duo!” he shouted blinding Scudder and Dillon with a bright light from his wand.

“Or perhaps this little trick which gave me my name? Mucus ad Nauseum!” he shouted causing the two bullies to break out into sneezing fits as snot started to run from their noses like a faucet.

“You’ll pay for this Cold! Achoo!” Scudder said as he and Rosa ran off to the nurse’s office.

“Here, let me help you with that,” Leonard said as he turned to Caitlin who was still picking up her books.

“Thanks,” Caitlin replied.

“No problem,” he smiled at her.

“That was really brave what you did. Standing up to them like that. I could never do that.”

“Well why not?” he said handing her the last book.

“Because they scare me?”

“I’ll tell you a secret,” he said before leaning in to whisper.

“They scare me too.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, but the secret to being brave is that it’s all an act. So if you can act then you can be brave. It’s a little hard at first but one learns to get the hang of it. And trust me when I say, it’s rather thrilling. Well I best be off. I promised my friends we’d meet in the library to study for exams and lord knows Mick can use all the help he can get. See you,” Leonard said before taking off.

“Bye,” Caitlin waved at him with a bright smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did everyone like the chapter? What do you think of Scudder and Dillon as Slytherins? What about Caitlin's appearance? Everyone excited for the upcoming chapter? It may very well be the last for this fic before I move onto the Second Year. Yes, this is going to be a series following Leonard's adventures each year. Next year, we see Savage's educational decree really take effect and how his influence over the school changes things. For the record I mean next year as in "Leonard Snart and The Second Year", not next year as in 2018.


	29. Best Friends and Birthday Parties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two days ago WaveRiderA sent me a link to another fan art! Yay! This one is of Leonard complete with a quote from the story and his Animagus form! Please check it out! It's awesome!
> 
> https://waveridera.tumblr.com/image/166774312167

After helping Caitlin with Scudder and Dillon, Leonard made his way to the library where he noticed a note on one of the tables.

 

_Change of plans. Meet us at the Room of Requirement._

Leonard didn’t know what to make of the note other than that his friends were up to something. But despite this suspicion he did as the note instructed and headed off to the Room of Requirement which opened up as he approached it to reveal an extra-large space with high ceilings, three broomsticks leaned up against a wall, a card game table set up off to the side, decorations all around, and his two best friends in the world standing in front of a table with a white tablecloth on top of it with huge grins on their faces.

 

“What’s all this?” Leonard asked them.

“Surprise!” Sara and Mick shouted in unison as they stepped apart revealing the chocolate cake with twelve candles and blue icing that read _Happy Birthday Leonard_ on top that lay on the table behind them.

“Happy Birthday Leonard!” Sara added as she placed a party hat on his head.

“It’s my birthday? I completely forgot.”

“We know. That’s why we actually managed to surprise you,” Mick replied before blowing on a party horn.

“I can’t believe you guys did this for me. Thank you.”

“No problem. Now are you going to blow out your candles and make a wish or not?” Sara replied gesturing to the cake.

“Oh wait!” Sara said before clearing her throat and nudging Mick.

“ _Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday to you_

_Happy Birthday dear Leonard_

_Happy Birthday to you!_ ” Sara and Mick sang in unison as Leonard stepped toward the cake closing his eyes as he thought of something to wish for.

 

He didn’t see the point in wishing on candles since they don’t come true but at the same time he didn’t see a point in wishing for something that was never going to be possible like his father not hurting him or Lisa either just in case there was just a tiny bit of magic in the candles after all.

 

Stupid notion perhaps, but hey the idea that wishing on candles would make it happen had to come from somewhere, didn’t it? Once he finally got an idea for a wish into his head he blew with one big breath and snuffed the candles out.

 

“What did you wish for?” Mick asked before getting hit on the arm by Sara.

“You can’t ask him that. If he tells it won’t come true,” she reprimanded.

“You know that candles aren’t actually magic, right?” Leonard questioned his friend.

“Says you. Before I got accepted into Hogwarts I didn’t even think magic was real and now I know it is. Who says that candles aren’t magic? I mean that had to come from somewhere, right?”

“She makes a point. Now do we eat cake first or race around the room on those broomsticks we stole from a few of the Quidditch players?” Mick asked.

“Brooms first then cake. I don’t want to stuff my gullet with cake only to get sick from flying too fast afterwards,” Leonard suggested.

“Race you to the broomsticks!” Sara shouted as she darted to the brooms grabbing one and taking off immediately.

 

Leonard then grabbed a Nimbus 2000 that was resting against the wall while Mick grabbed a Firebolt. The two boys quickly flew into the air hovering beside Sara who turned to them.

 

“First one to do three laps around the room wins. Ready?” Sara asked them.

“Ready!” the two of them said in unison.

“On your mark, get set, go!” Sara shouted as they took off on their brooms at breakneck speeds.

 

Sara was in the lead as they passed the halfway mark for the first lap. But Mick was able to pass her as they turned the corner moving onto the second lap. Leonard was lagging a bit behind, but he knew what he was doing. He knew that as competitive as Sara and Mick were, it wouldn’t be too long until they started playing dirty and sure enough they did as Mick started pushing Sara to keep her from passing him. She then started to push back until they were both tussling, slowing them down enough for Leonard to pass them by flying overheard as he crossed the finish line.

 

“You know one of you might’ve actually beaten me if you two weren’t so busy cheating,” Leonard smirked.

“He started it,” Sara pouted.

“Yeah well, whatever,” Mick huffed as they touched back down to the ground.

 

The three of them each grabbed a slice of cake before sitting down to a game of Gin at the card table.

 

“So where exactly did you guys get the cake anyway?” Leonard asked them as he took a bite of the chocolate cake.

“We made it in the kitchen. Well Sara made it. But I helped,” Mick informed him.

“Really? I didn’t know you could bake.”

“Yeah well my mother taught me and my sister the past couple of years. I’m just glad I could remember the recipe. What do you think of it?” Sara replied.

“It’s great. Best cake I’ve ever had,” Leonard answered.

“It’s the only cake you’ve ever had,” Mick added.

“Shut up. Of course I’ve had cake before. I just haven’t had it often. So thank you guys for this. I really appreciate it,” Leonard smiled at them.

“No problem. Least we could do especially seeing as how I’m about to win. Beat that,” Sara said as she laid her cards down.

“No fair! You cheated!” Mick yelled.

“Says the boy with an ace sticking out of his sleeve,” Sara retorted.

“Um…” Mick said as he pushed the card back into his robes.

“What ace?” he finished.

 

Leonard laughed, happy to have such great friends and happy that they could have so much fun together. He had never known that he could be this happy. He was really going to miss them once school let out for the year. It may only be June second at the moment, but the thirtieth was fast approaching, and he would have to bid farewell to Sara. Mick, he grew up with and could visit during the summer, but it wouldn’t be quite the same without Sara around.

 

They continued to play their card game well into the evening before ultimately heading for supper in the Great Hall. On their way there they passed by Professors Darhk and Merlyn arguing in the corridor only for them to quickly shut their mouths as the three students walked by to avoid having them listen in. Leonard didn’t know what they had been yelling about but they seemed deeply concerned about it. He thought for a moment that maybe he should be too if it had anything to do with Savage, but he quickly got pulled out of those thoughts as Sara handed him a present.

 

“Here, we got you something,” she said to him as she handed the small box wrapped in icy blue and tied with a deep blue string.

 

He opened it to find an enchanted picture inside of the three of them from their first day at Hogwarts. Leonard smiled at Sara before giving her a hug. He thought back on the birthday party she and Mick had thrown for him and smiled thinking about his wish. _Perhaps it would come true_ , he thought, _perhaps we will be friends forever_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't posted recently! I had a media law exam I had to study for! Fingers crossed I passed! So I know I had said last chapter that this fic would end at 29 chapters but then I got the idea to add Leonard's birthday in here as well and was able to stretch it to 30... maybe thirty one if it takes me a bit longer than I anticipate to finish off the story. Don't worry this will not end here. This is simply part one of a 7 part series of stories which I'm thinking about calling either "Leonard Snart and The Tales of Hogwarts" or "Leonard Snart and The Legends of Hogwarts". Which series title would you prefer? Excited for the next chapter? What did you think of len's birthday surprise? Leave all thoughts or feelings down below in the comment section!


	30. Farewell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted this link to a fanart WaveRiderA did of Ravenclaw!Len late last chapter and so in case any of you missed out on it I'll post the link here again along with the one for Gryffindor!Sara and the art will be depicted in this chapter.
> 
> https://waveridera.tumblr.com/image/166774312167  
> https://78.media.tumblr.com/c9a076956b2e1655c4e8c720dbe1fae2/tumblr_oxt1sltxDu1wax1kzo1_1280.png
> 
> All credits for these amazing fanarts go to WaveRiderA at tumblr.

It was the last day of school before everyone would be going back home and Leonard was just finishing up a little pet project he’d been working on the past couple of weeks in the Room of Requirement when Sara and Mick came in.

 

“There you are. We’re supposed to be in the Great Hall. What are you doing in here?” Sara asked him.

“Preparing for the return home. Here, take these,” Leonard said as he handed them a couple of golden cuffs with engravings on them.

“No thanks. I ain’t the jewelry type,” Mick replied.

“This isn’t jewelry. They’re charms I created. They’re meant to protect the wearer from any and all curses including the Cruciatus Curse and can’t be removed by force. The wearer has to remove it themselves willingly,” Leonard explained.

“You made these to protect yourself from your father, didn’t you?” Sara asked.

“Yes and Lisa and the two of you. I won’t risk my father being able to hurt anyone I care about again.”

“Uh-huh and how do you know they work?” Mick asked as he glanced at his cuff.

“Oh I enchanted this mirror to deflect my spells back at me and tested the cuffs out using the Cruciatus Curse. Simple. And yes, yes, I know the spell is illegal, but I only used it against myself and only for the purpose of creating a method of defense against it,” Leonard said gesturing to the mirror behind him.

“So let’s tally up here. This year alone you’ve created a decaying spell, a time-stopping spell, a Preservation Cupboard, a spell deflection mirror, and Cruciatus Curse-proof cuffs. And you’re only twelve years old now,” Mick added.

“Yeah and?” Leonard asked.

“You do realize that no other wizard in the history of magic has ever invented so much stuff like that at such a young age, right? I mean you do get that this means you’re some kind of magic prodigy, right?” Mick asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Tell me something I don’t know. Now please, keep these cuffs with you. I don’t want my father being able to hurt either one of you when we get back to King’s Cross Station,” Leonard replied.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now come on! We’re late enough as it is!” Sara insisted as she dragged the two boys away to the Great Hall.

 

The three young students arrived at the Great Hall to find Minister Vandal Savage standing to the side as Headmistress McGonagall addressed the student body. They took to their seats at their respective house tables with Leonard sitting down beside Cisco.

 

“What’s going on?” Leonard whispered to his fellow Ravenclaw.

“Not sure. Something to do with an educational decree of some sort. Pay attention!” Cisco replied.

“After having been interviewed and their backgrounds thoroughly researched the Ministry has come to the decision to relieve three professors of their teaching positions here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. These professors are: Professor Damien Darhk, Professor Malcolm Merlyn…” McGonagall continued to say to the students to Leonard’s relief of hearing that Darhk and Merlyn would be leaving.

“And Professor Rip Hunter,” she then added to Leonard’s dismay.

 

Professor Hunter was an ally of his and the only teacher he could really trust with his suspicions of Savage and the like. The only one who knew what was coming and could help him prepare for it and now he was being forced to leave. Leonard ran out of the Great Hall as the Headmistress continued her speech discussing the replacements for the three professors. He ran all the way to Professor Hunter’s office where he found the teacher packing up his things.

 

“Tell me it isn’t true Professor. Tell me you aren’t really leaving,” Leonard insisted with a tone of concern.

“Why Mr. Snart, I hadn’t realized you cared,” Rip smirked before continuing.

“Yes, I’m afraid it’s so. The Minister for Magic, Vandal Savage, has indeed decided to fire me so as to replace me with an ally of his to further his goals.”

“We have to do something. We can’t let him get away with this,” Leonard said in a worried tone.

“And I can assure you, he won’t be getting away with this. For now he may be but in the not too distant future Savage will be forced to face destiny and he will lose. Fret not Mr. Snart, I may be leaving for a while but mark my words I will return one day but in the meantime, I’m going to need you to do me a favor,” Rip said as he reached into his pocket.

“Anything, sir.”

“I need you to keep this safe for me,” Rip said pulling out his Time-Turner.

“I’m fairly certain Savage is intent on keeping an eye on me even after my removal from Hogwarts and I’d rather he not get his hands on this. No telling what he would do with a Time-Turner as powerful as this one in his possession.”

“You’re giving this to me?” Leonard asked as he took the Time-Turner into his hands.

“Well of course. Who better to trust than the most gifted wizard of all time?”

“I still have my doubts about that.”

“I’m certain you do. But that’s the thing about doubts. No matter what doubts some people may have about something there will be those who have nothing but faith in it. You may not believe in yourself yet Mr. Snart, but I can assure you that there are people who have the utmost confidence in you. I myself am one of them. Now I’m afraid I must take my leave,” Rip said gathering up his bag before turning to the door.

“Good luck in your schooling next year and little tip for the future, dragon blood comes in handy for more than just twelve things. You’ll figure that one out when the time comes, I’m sure. Now, farewell Mr. Snart,” Rip said extending his hand to Leonard.

“Farewell Professor and, you can call me Leonard,” Leonard said as he shook his now former professor’s hand.

“Farewell Leonard,” Rip nodded before heading out the door turning back after only a brief moment.

“Oh and before I forget congratulations on the five forms of magic you invented this past year. Trust me those will come in quite handy in the future,” Rip added with a smile as he left Leonard behind in his office.

 

Leonard glanced around the room trying to remember it as it is now and not how it will surely be altered once the new Charms professor arrived. He didn’t know what the next year would hold but he figured that if Professor Hunter wasn’t too concerned then maybe things would work out in the end. He just hoped it wouldn’t all come down to him to save the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. That's all for now. The next fic in the series will be coming out soon and I hope you all enjoy it as much as you did this one. Don't worry, Rip will return to Hogwarts eventually as will Darhk and Merlyn. And as for everything relying on Leonard to save the day? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned for the next installment. And yeah I know the tags list this as a Sara/Leonard ship fic but in my defense they are only eleven year old kids in this but trust me CaptainCanary is the endgame. If you any of you feel it's necessary I will post the next one with pre-Sara Lance/Leonard Snart tags as per your requests. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter/fic down below!


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